OFFICERS running the police crackdown on dangerous driving in Bradford are “passionate” about making the district’s roads safer.

A spokesman for Operation Steerside said colleagues were determined to reduce the number of serious and fatal collisions in the area.

He added that dealing with the aftermath of serious collisions was a driving force behind officers’ desire to improve safety on Bradford’s roads.

“We are passionate about doing the operation because we have to deal with the consequences of dangerous driving,” said the spokesman.

“Steerside is a preventative operation. It is there to try and bring down the number of road traffic offences. The over-riding theme of the operation is to bring down the number of serious and fatal incidents.

“We, as officers, have to attend the collisions and deal with the aftermath of these incidents, so we have a vested interest in bringing the number down.

“We are not just out there to give tickets out. We are out there to reduce fatal and serious collisions, like what happened last week.”

Steerside officers were involved in the pursuit of a Vauxhall Vectra that hit a bicycle in Bingley last week, killing its rider.

Andrew Platten, who was 55 and from Bingley, died after the collision on Cottingley Cliffe Road.

Last week, a total of 124 drivers were caught by Steerside officers. They were made up of: speeding, 55; using a mobile phone at the wheel, 12; not wearing a seat belt while driving, 39; driving without insurance, eight; other road-related offences, ten. Eight vehicles were seized by officers.

One of the cars seized was a black Vauxhall Corsa that had been initially stopped for speeding on Huddersfield Road, Odsal, before police discovered that the driver only had a provisional licence.

Two of the other seized cars were taken off the road because the drivers had no insurance.

Last week’s efforts take the grand total for Steerside - which started at the beginning of February this year on the back of the Telegraph & Argus Stop The Danger Drivers campaign - to almost 4,000.

In all, 3,860 drivers have been caught breaking the law. They can be broken down into: speeding, 1,401; using a mobile phone at the wheel, 377; not wearing a seat belt while driving, 1,315; driving without insurance, 284; other road-related offences, 483.

A total of 299 vehicles have been seized.

The spokesman for Steerside said: “We are not just out there to persecute people. We are out there to try and prevent bad driving and serious injuries and fatal collisions.”