MORE THAN 70 speeding tickets were handed out to motorists over the weekend as part of the police’s crackdown on dangerous drivers.
The force’s Road Harm Prevention Team carried out enforcement action on Saturday and Sunday (July 27 and 28) with hotspot areas targeted including Solihull’s Damson Parkway, Bickenhill Parkway and the A38 Sutton bypass.
Over the two nights, 76 speeding tickets were issued with one driver clocked at 107mph in a 40mph zone.
The force said ten tickets were handed out for misrepresented number plates and one for flouting a red automatic traffic signal – one vehicle was also seized and its driver reported for dangerous driving.
And four section 59 warnings, which gives police the authority to seize vehicles being driven in an anti-social behaviour, were issued and two vehicles were tactically stung.
PC Mark Campbell, from Operation Hercules, said: “We need motorists to understand that we won’t tolerate illegal street racing or cruising on the region’s roads and will take action against motorists who flout the law and put other road users at risk.
“Our ultimate aim is to keep people safe. People have been killed and seriously injured while street racing and it’s simply unacceptable to put other motorists at risk in such a reckless way.
“We work closely with our partners on a range of tactics to identify, disrupt and enforce against those taking part or observing. Our priority is keeping the roads safe for all.”
Operation Hercules is an ongoing campaign to target people involved in street racing or car cruising where vehicles are driven in an anti-social or dangerous manner.
There is a ban on street racing in Birmingham and the Black Country due to High Court rulings and anyone breaching the ban will be in contempt of court and could face penalties including imprisonment, a fine, or an order to have their assets seized.
The injunctions prohibit people driving, being a passenger or rider at a gathering where there is motor racing, stunts or other dangerous or obstructive driving.
They cover Birmingham and the whole of the boroughs of Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall.
Incidents of street racing should be reported to police via Live Chat on the force’s website or call 101.
