Catching speeding soldiers: Police tackle road offences in Britain's largest military garrison
Police have stepped up efforts to tackle speeding in Britain's largest military garrison, with rural roads posing a significant risk of serious injury or death.
North Yorkshire Police has warned that roads around Catterick Garrison are not exempt from tragedy, and speeding is one of the "fatal five" offences.
BFBS Forces News joined officers on an operation where serving personnel were among those caught driving at excessive speed.
As well as issuing tickets – fines for speeding offences – officers also dealt with motorists by offering advice and warnings.
Police sergeant Charlotte Lancaster from the Catterick Neighbourhood Policing Team led the operation and said drivers are often shocked to be stopped and informed of their speed.
"We are generally well received," she said. "It's often the case that when I pull someone over and issue them a caution because we are going to talk about the offence of speeding, that I will end up telling people how fast they were going, and people are often taken aback at the speed they were actually doing."
Another officer involved in the activity is Paul Enbom, a former infantry soldier who now serves as a PCSO in North Yorkshire Police. He agreed that once drivers are stopped, they are generally on their best behaviour and easy to deal with.
"Obviously, we are the police, and we are potentially issuing them with a ticket, so we do get that politeness from them," the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment veteran said.
Speeding destroys lives
The operation took place during rush hour on a rainy September day.
One of those stopped was a serving soldier, who we are not identifying. He was recorded driving at almost 50mph in a 30mph zone. Due to the significant level of speeding, Sgt Lancaster decided to issue the man a ticket.
He will have the right to argue his case in court or pay a fine, which will likely come with penalty points on his licence.
"One of the results today was a driver who we clocked going 48mph in a 30mph zone. Obviously, not acceptable given the current weather conditions," Sgt Lancaster said.
"I asked the driver to pull over. We had a word together, and he's been issued a ticket for the offence of speeding in a 30mph zone.
"Nearly 20 miles over the legal limit isn't acceptable, which is what we recorded."
Locations like Catterick Garrison can be isolated. Although it is Britain's largest garrison town with approximately 14,000 people living there, the area is not serviced by a railway station, meaning many serving personnel are more likely to purchase a vehicle.
The road safety charity Brake said that drivers under the age of 25 account for almost a quarter of the collisions that result in serious injury or death. The statistics show that incidents like this more often than not occur on rural roads – just like those surrounding Catterick.
This is why the Ministry of Defence has its own Defence Road Safety Strategy, which includes a programme aimed at serving personnel called Survive the Drive.
The Ministry of Defence told BFBS Forces News: "Speeding destroys lives. We are grateful to North Yorkshire Police for the ongoing support they provide in enforcing the law to protect personal and public safety in and around Catterick Garrison."
While unit-level training aims to keep service personnel safe on Britain's roads, both in garrisons like Catterick and beyond, officers like Charlotte and Paul have a simple message for those getting behind the wheel: Speeding kills.
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