Speeding drivers go back to the classroom

9:09am Monday 30th July 2007

SPEEDING drivers were sent back to school when the emergency services mounted a safety exercise on a notorious stretch of road.

Operation Siren saw speed guns at Chop Gate on the B1257 road, where two motorcyclists have died this year and three people have been seriously injured.

Drivers exceeding the 30mph and 40mph limits were given a choice - pay a £60 fine or spend 20 minutes being educated on the perils of bad driving.

Those who opted for the classroom were taken to the village hall for a talk from the police, fire brigade and ambulance service, and a film about road accidents.

All drivers who broke the speed limit were stopped, as were those driving carelessly or dangerously or who were suspected of having defective vehicles.

Twenty-five drivers, including about six motorcyclists, were stopped during the four-hour operation, which also involved Hambleton Community Safety Partnership. Two were issued with £60 fixed-penalty notices and three points on their licence.

Three tickets were also issued for defective vehicles, two to motorcyclists and one to a car driver.

Another driver was warned for not wearing a seatbelt and a motorcyclist is likely to be charged with careless driving and for bike defects.

One vehicle was seized when its owner admitted driving without insurance.