A POLICE crackdown on dangerous driving in Clackmannanshire has seen a massive spike in the number of motorists reported for speeding.

Traffic cops recorded a total of 245 speeding offences from April to June this year, well in excess of the 208 recorded for the entire 12 months before that.

Indeed, for the corresponding period last year — April to June, 2014 — only 44 speeding offences were recorded by police.

Dangerous or careless driving remains an issue in the Wee County, with local policing plans for all five wards bearing mention of speeding as mid-to-high priority.

Recently, a number of road safety initiatives were launched with primary pupils in Tullibody holding up warning signs for drivers near local schools.

Police Scotland say their focus is geared towards nurturing a positive change in driver behaviour and Adrian Wright, community response inspector based in Alloa, feels the approach will pay dividends in the months to come.

However, he added that this strategy goes hand-in-hand with enforcement measures for those who disregard speed limits.

Inspector Wright said: “Education and encouragement is part of our overall focus, but there is a cut-off point. If we find people are driving inappropriately, they have to be dealt with.

“Speed limits are in place for a reason and there is no doubt that speeding contributes to a high-number of road traffic incidents.

“However, both in Clackmannanshire and across the country, we are continuing to see a downward trend in people who are killed and seriously injured on our roads.

“Our desire is for safer roads and we can see that having a visible police presence is having a positive impact.

“And if we are showing a reduction in collisions as a result of our strategy then you can say the police are doing their job.” Police Scotland use data to find hot spot areas for road traffic incidents and task their officers to maintain a high-visibilty presence on or near those particular roads.

Some of the most popular spots to monitor for speeding have been Tullibody Road, near Lornshill Academy; the main road between Menstrie and Tillicoultry; and the stretch of road from Fishcross to Glenochil, near the Collylands roundabout.

However, Inspestor Wright stressed that their approach is pre-emptive and refuted suggestions that a target culture in the force is behind the rise in speeding offences.

He said: “There are absolutely no targets — no officer here at Alloa is being told to go out and get so many tickets or anything like that.

“Our only target is to reduce road collisions and increase road safety for motorists and, indeed, all road users. That is the focus of our activity.

“It’s all to do with our commitment to the national strategy. This is based on educating drivers as to the dangers of speeding; encouraging drivers to exhibit safer behaviour behind the wheel; engineer safer routes when accident spots are identified; and, when necessary, enforce the law.

“We also respond to the concerns from members of the public who say there are particular roads or areas where they feel drivers often speed.” It is hoped by the end of the year the strategy will lead to a decline in the number of people killed or serious injured on Wee County roads.

In the recording period between April-June this year, there was 16 road casualties in Clacks, compared to 84 for the entire 14-15 period.

If the numbers were to remain consistent, this would show a reduction in road traffic casualties; however, the estimate does not take account of the expected rise in collisions which occur during the winter months.