Devon and Cornwall Police Road Safety Team Release March Figures

Think you’d notice if a driver next to you was on their phone? Police across Devon and Cornwall caught 180 of them doing exactly that in March alone, and that’s just the start of what the Road Safety Team has been up to.

Devon & Cornwall Police have published their latest monthly summary, laying out the figures behind the team’s work to keep drivers, riders, cyclists and pedestrians safer across the two counties.

Speeding and seatbelts

The Road Safety Team logged 546 hours of speed detection during the month and ran 202 Community Speed Watch (CSW) sessions, the volunteer-led scheme where local residents help monitor traffic in their own villages and neighbourhoods.

Officers also recorded 568 seatbelt offences and 180 mobile phone offences. Both remain part of the so-called “fatal four” alongside speeding and drink or drug driving, and both carry six penalty points and a £200 fine on conviction.

Vehicles taken off the road

A further 266 vehicles were seized for being uninsured or driven without a valid licence. Officers also issued 335 tickets directly to drivers during the month.

On the medical side, 174 referrals were sent to the DVLA where concerns had been raised about a driver’s fitness to be behind the wheel.

Education and dashcam footage

Education made up a sizeable chunk of the team’s work too. A total of 9,221 National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) courses were delivered over the month. These are the courses drivers are offered as an alternative to points and a fine for lower-level offences such as exceeding the speed limit.

The force also processed 863 Operation Snap submissions. Op Snap is the system that lets members of the public upload dashcam, helmet cam or phone footage of dangerous driving for the police to review.

One Bike Safe course also ran during March, with 14 motorcyclists taking part. The course is aimed at reducing the disproportionate number of riders killed and seriously injured on the region’s roads each year.

The figures cover the whole of Devon and Cornwall.