A TWO-day operation carried out in December by Devon and Cornwall Police roads policing officers and partner agencies recorded more than 1,200 motorists travelling at excessive speed.

On December 13, part one of Operation Logjam caught 560 drivers speeding and part two of the operation, held on December 19 across the force area, saw the use of safety camera vans of the Peninsula Road Safety Partnership.

An additional 651 motorists were recorded exceeding the speed limit during the Christmas rush period — 121 of these were class restricted vehicles, such as delivery vans.

Some of the speeds recorded were excessive — one car at 114 mph in a 70mph zone and a delivery van at 84mph where the limit was 60mph.

Marcus Laine, operations manager for the Peninsula Road Safety Partnership (PRSP), said: ‘We will be examining the results for any companies that have drivers who consistently fail to comply with the speed limit.

‘We will contact the fleet managers to offer our support in ensuring that their driving at work policies are effective and to ensure their delivery schedules are not such that the drivers feel pressure to exceed the speed limit.’

Mr Laine continued: ‘We are, however, grateful to the considerate company drivers and members of the public that have respected the speed limits in Devon and Cornwall.

‘Whilst the numbers caught speeding may seem high for a one day operation they do actually represent a very small percentage of all road users.’

Meanwhile for Operation Liquor, a joint operation between the PRSP, Devon and Cornwall Police E section firearms officers and the No Excuse roads policing team, took place between December 18 and 22.

The operation mainly focused on impaired driving during the evening and the morning after the night before around the force area but equally officers were alert to the so-called ‘fatal five’ offences — inappropriate or excessive speed; not wearing a seatbelt; driver distractions, including using mobile devices; driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs; careless and inconsiderate driving.

A total of 615 speeding offences were detected, five drivers were dealt with for offences at the roadside, 54 traffic offence reports were issued which could see the receiving driver undertaking a speed awareness course, being given a conditional fixed penalty and points on their licence or facing a day in court.

Additionally there were six positive drug wipes, the providers of which are currently released awaiting the results of their blood tests.

Nine arrests were made for drink driving, on suspicion of driving whilst over the specified drug limit and driving whilst unfit through drugs.

Sgt Jon Kerridge-Smith of the No Excuse team said: ‘While there is still no room for complacency from either the police or the public, we are cautiously optimistic that of the breath tests we conducted, concentrating on the evening and morning after danger times, only two out of 166 were positive.’