DRIVERS are “still putting putting lives at risk" by flouting speed restrictions, according to police in Hampshire.

Hampshire Constabulary took part in the Europe-wide TISPOL speed enforcement campaign, which ran from April 13 to April 19.

According to figures for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, 61 per cent of speeding offences were committed in 30mph limits with 21 per cent in 40mph zones, many in the New Forest.

A total of 2,656 vehicles were caught exceeding the speed limit. Of those 671 were detected by roads policing officers and the rest, 1,985, were detected by static automated speed cameras and officer controlled devices.

Hampshire Constabulary Road Safety Sergeant, Rob Heard said: "These results show that too many people are still speeding on our roads and by doing so are putting their own lives at risk, as well as others.

"82 per cent of people caught speeding during our campaign were in 30 or 40mph limits. These speed limits are in areas where the hazards and various road users are often increased. Excessive or inappropriate speed has a singularly devastating impact on the safety of all road users, increasing the risk of not only being involved in a crash but also the severity of the consequences.

"The forces experience by the human body in a collision increase exponentially as the speed increases. If you collide with a pedestrian at 30mph they have a 80% chance of survival, however if you collide at 40mph then the pedestrian only has a 20 per cent chance of survival.

"Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police are committed to increasing road safety and will continue to target those who fail to abide by the speed limits throughout the year."

Nearly 50 per cent of those caught have been or will be offered a national speed awareness course as an alternative to prosecution.

Sgt Heard added: "Our aim is to improve the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of any driver who speeds, thereby reducing the likelihood of the driver being involved in a future speeding incident and make our roads safer."

Throughout the campaign officers raised the awareness of the dangers of speeding to people and reminded those who drive goods vehicles how their speed varies on certain roads.