A PARTNERSHIP is helping to slam the brakes on speeding motorists across the region.

And bosses have pledged that work will continue to crack down on those flouting speed limits.

Since a new West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership enforcement strategy was launched a year ago, over 220,000 drivers have been caught speeding.

Of those, more than 32,200 were detected at 'enforcement sites' set up in direct response to public concerns.

The partnership, which comprises West Yorkshire Police and the region's five local authority highways teams, has so far deployed cameras at over 40 enforcement sites – and the network is set to be expanded.

As part of a Vision Zero initiative, it's aimed to eliminate all avoidable road fatalities and serious injuries by 2040.

In 2022, 65 people were killed as a result of collisions on West Yorkshire's roads – the highest figure since 2018. A further 5,716 people were injured.

Provisional data for last year indicates there were 49 fatalities and 5,466 people were injured.

The partnership says that whilst the data shows improvement, any death or injury on the roads is "unacceptable".

Paul Jeffrey, police lead for the West Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership, says: "Excessive or inappropriate speed is a real issue in many communities and our new approach has enabled us to be more responsive to community concerns and act before speeding leads to a crash and potentially loss of life.

"We've made a clear commitment in West Yorkshire to address the human tragedy of death and injury on our roads. The presence of our vans has been welcomed by those residents who care about road safety, and we have seen significant reductions in the number of offences detected following our deployments.

"Improving compliance with speed limits is a core aim in preventing speed-related collisions.

"Since the launch of the strategy, enforcement has been undertaken at over 40 sites following concerns expressed by communities, and over 70 more are currently being assessed.

"We're committed to protecting road users from the risk of injury by encouraging safe speeds across the network and improving driver behaviour through education and where necessary prosecution."

Alison Lowe, West Yorkshire's deputy mayor for policing and crime and chair of the Vision Zero board, says: "We all have a part to play in stopping road deaths and serious injury.

"To drivers who continue to speed, the message is simple – you will be caught."