ROAD USERS IN MORAY are being urged to stick to the rules this Summer and help to ensure their own and other road user safety.
More daylight hours provide generally better driving conditions and, with school holidays beginning at the end of the week, local police officers are on alert.
Under Operation CEDAR (Challenge, Educate, Detect and Reduce) they will be carrying out additional proactive checks on routes in throughout the north east to target those motorists who continue to compromise road safety for themselves and others.
Chief Inspector Stewart Mackie, lead for Operation CEDAR, said it is everyone’s responsibility to know the risks that can contribute to serious and fatal collisions.
He adds: “The Summer will – hopefully – bring with it better weather, lighter nights and improved driving conditions, which means more opportunity to get out and see the sights and use our roads.
“Road safety is a complex area and both Police and other partners spend a considerable amount of time making sense of why collisions occur and identifying any areas where we can take steps to prevent and reduce future incidents.
“Time and time again we find that the causes of incidents were completely avoidable, like driving whilst using mobile phones, travelling at excessive or inappropriate speeds and even health issues which affect your ability to drive for example due to eyesight, medication or medical conditions.
“I can assure the public that officers along with partner agencies do everything possible to challenge driver behaviour and influence attitudes to road safety, however we all have to challenge and take personal responsibility.
“If you are a passenger in a vehicle and you are uncomfortable with the speed or manner of driving, then challenge the driver. If you are at a BBQ and are aware someone is about to drive under the influence of alcohol, challenge their behaviour.
“If you think you need to read a text message while driving, consider ‘is it really worth it’? It’s no secret what types of driver behaviour contribute to injury and harm on our roads, drink driving being one, and we must continue to treat them as completely socially unacceptable.”
Operation CEDAR continues throughout the year to influence driver behaviour and to support the wider road safety agenda at both a national and local level. North East Division will continue to work with a host of other agencies including the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service and local authorities to prevent and reduce serious incidents.