The number of drivers caught speeding in Perth and Kinross has rocketed by 63% in a year.
Police caught 1,512 speeding motorists on the region’s roads in the three months from July to September last year.
This compared to 926 during the same period in 2020.
And more people were detected breaking the speed limit during the period in Perthshire than in Dundee and Angus combined.
Police say differences in Covid restrictions meant there were far more vehicles on the road in 2021.
This has made year-on-year comparisons difficult.
But the figures follow a concerted crackdown on dangerous driving in Perthshire during the past few months.
Chief Superintendent Phil Davison said the efforts to influence driver behaviour would continue.
Crackdown on speeding to continue
Mr Davison revealed the figures at a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council’s housing and communities committee on Monday.
He said the increase in the number of drivers detected was due to the concerted police action.
“Clearly we are looking to try and influence driver behaviour and report accordingly,” he said.
Police say most speeding offences in the area are detected on trunk roads, where the limit is set at 60 or 70 mile per hour.
Officers are therefore focusing most of their efforts on those roads, followed by routes with 40mph speed limits.
Some councillors were concerned that Perth and Kinross appeared to attract more speeding drivers than Dundee and Angus.
Strathtay SNP councillor Grant Laing asked: “Is this because we have so many trunk roads running through Perth and Kinross?
“And the people who’ve committed the speeding offences – is it people visiting the area, driving through the area on the trunk roads?
“Or is it actually residents of Perth and Kinross that are committing these speeding offences at a much higher rate than residents of Dundee or Angus?”
Mr Davison assured Mr Laing it was due to more motorists passing through.
He said: “Perth and Kinross does have significantly more trunk roads and is also an area of great appeal for people to come and visit and to transition through.
“So that certainly reflects why it’s an area of greater focus in terms of roads policing”
