A POLICE crackdown on dangerous driving in Bradford district has now snared more than 3,500 motorists.

Operation Steerside officers have caught 3,554 danger drivers since the initiative started at the beginning of February – an average of 161.5 per week.

The latest week of Steerside action saw 99 drivers caught, including a 15-year-old boy. The youngster and some friends had clubbed together to buy a car, said police.

Sergeant Cameron Buchan, who is leading the operation, said: “We have had a 15-year-old driver in the West Bowling area.

“One of the officers stopped him and found out that they had pooled their money together as a bunch of mates and bought the car from an auction.

“The boy happened to be driving it at the time.”

The number of drivers caught was down on the usual Steerside weekly average because officers from the operation were tasked with policing Eid celebrations.

“We were busy doing other things,” said Sgt Buchan. “We were keeping the roads moving.”

Sgt Buchan said of the latest landmark for Steerside: “The landmarks are there and they are coming and going, and 3,500 is now behind us.”

He said he hoped the drivers caught so far had learned a lesson and would be better-behaved on the district’s roads in the future.

“It is more about education,” said Sgt Buchan. “If we look to the next landmark of 4,000, it hopefully means 4,000 people have been educated – be it by receiving points, or having their wings clipped if they have been speeding.

“How else do you measure the success of such an initiative?

“Accident statistics will be out next year to show what impact Steerside has had, but we want more of an immediate indicator.”

The latest weekly figures of 99 drivers caught were broken down into: speeding, 19; using a mobile phone at the wheel, 10; not wearing a seatbelt, 28; driving without insurance, 13; other road-related offences, 29.

A total of 16 vehicles were seized, including a Peugeot 106 that the 15-year-old boy was caught driving, and a Volkswagen Beetle in Keighley.

Operation Steerside has now been running for 22 weeks.

A police spokesman said: “This week incorporated the festival of Eid. Steerside staff were used in the policing operation for this matter, which could account for the drop in numbers.”

A total of 3,554 drivers have now been caught by Steerside officers.

They are broken down into: speeding, 1,258; using a mobile phone at the wheel, 352; not wearing a seatbelt while driving, 1,220; driving without insurance, 269; other road-related offences, 455.

In total, police have seized 188 cars.

The operation was inspired by the Telegraph & Argus Stop The Danger Drivers campaign, which started at the end of November.

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