Police in region Mitt carried out speed checks during the traffic week of March 9-15. A total of 1,550 drivers were reported for speeding on roads with higher speed limits.
During the police traffic week focused on speed, held in week 11 from March 9 to 15, checks targeted roads with speed limits of 70 km/h and above, such as national roads and motorways. These roads are the site of most fatal accidents, where even minor speeding can have severe consequences. Controls used visible laser devices, hidden average speed cameras, and new police cars with radar capable of measuring speeds of vehicles ahead, in oncoming lanes, and multiple at once. In total, 1,550 drivers were reported, including 319 for 6-9 km/h over the limit. Beyond speeding, other crimes were detected: four wanted persons were found, and suspicions of drug offenses arose in 59 cases. One incident involved a car clocked at 152 km/h on an 80 km/h road; the vehicle was deregistered, and the driver suspected of drug driving. Malin Dahlström, traffic police officer in region Mitt, stated: 'It will probably make a big difference when we get radar in all our vehicles. When more violations are detected, the perceived risk of detection increases, which I believe is one of the biggest factors in changing drivers' behavior.' Conny Salestedt, traffic coordinator in region Mitt, added: 'Our controls aim to make roads safer. The results of our traffic weeks show that police presence on the roads is important for detecting crimes and preventing accidents.' Police conduct ten such traffic weeks annually with varying focuses to support the Vision Zero goal of no deaths or serious injuries in traffic.
