County full of careless red-light runners

DRIVERS in South Yorkshire are some of the most likely to get caught running lights and ignoring signs, according to new research.

This includes skipping the traffic lights, failing to comply with traffic signs or with direction of a traffic warden, and driving anywhere else but on the road.

A total of 4,037 penalty notices were issued last year in South Yorkshire for drivers caught running lights and ignoring traffic signs, making them the fifth worst offenders for this type of offence. 

That means for every 10,000 drivers in the area, 51 were ticketed.

We’re not the worst overall, though, as that title goes to Avon and Somerset, with 1,785 offences per 10,000 drivers.

The study was carried out by private number plate specialists Regtransfers.co.uk to find the UK’s worst areas for driving offences and was based on 2.7 million offences racked up by British motorists between 2016 and 2017.

The most prolific speeders were in Avon and Somerset, Cumbria and Warwickshire, although all areas have plenty of speedy drivers — half of us admit to speeding on motorways and a third of us drive above the speed limit in built up areas. 

Scotland is the worst for careless drivers, having no insurance or driving without a licence, while Londoners use their phones while driving more than anywhere else.

Leicestershire drivers are most likely to hit the accelerator rather than slow down when they see traffic lights changing from green to amber as they received most penalty notices for running lights and ignoring traffic signs, but South Yorkshire motorists were also among those most likely to receive a fixed penalty notice.

Parking fines are more common in Gwent than anywhere else, while Essex drivers are done for flouting seatbelt laws more than elsewhere.