THE FACT that Operation Steerside has now become embedded in everyday police culture is very encouraging news.

The extra funding being put in place to keep the successful police crackdown going for another six months is a very significant development.

It’s very clear that the Telegraph & Argus struck a chord with all our readers when we decided to launch our Stop the Danger Drivers campaign.

The fact that so many readers are still contacting us and telling us about incidents of appalling and dangerous driving across the city and district is evidence that this campaign is vital.

We don’t believe it’s even a small stretch of the imagination to suggest that lives have been saved and accidents prevented by the pressure that has been exerted to tackle this issue vigorously.

We also fully understand that it’s a behaviour pattern that’s unlikely to stop completely but, in reporting on the issue consistently, we hope to highlight the fact that the perpetrators are being brought to justice.

Indeed, the fact that 5,573 offences have been logged under Operation Steerside goes to show the scale of the problem and the good work that has been undertaken so far to tackle it.

By keeping the issue in the headlines, it continues to focus the spotlight on danger drivers.

Like the police, we pledge to continue to exposing atrocious driving across our district in a bid to make people aware of just how dangerous it really is.