Take the pledge to support Operation Fatal 5

​Lincolnshire Police will run its #Fatal5 campaign from April 1 to 28, in line with the National Police Chief’s Council month-long road safety focus on the behaviours that cause the most harm on our roads, and is urging motorists to take the pledge not commit any of the top five offences.

These are speeding, driving under the influence of drink/drugs, carelessness, distraction, and not wearing a seatbelt.

Penalties for causing a fatal collision include up to life imprisonment, and for committing a fatal 5 offence also include a criminal record, a maximum of six months in prison, points on your licence and a fine.

Inspector Jason Baxter said: “It’s extremely frustrating and deeply tragic that these potentially fatal behaviours are so easily avoided.

"Although Lincolnshire Police, and the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, carry out road safety activity all year, we will be undertaking a month long enhanced enforcement operation throughout April, where we will seek out those who commit fatal 5 offences.

"We want people to understand the consequences – not only of being caught, but also the risks of causing a collision resulting in serious injury or death.”

The launch has come as the summer months see significantly greater numbers killed and seriously injured on our roads, and the force’s both overt and covert cars will focus on routes with the highest volume of traffic where the greatest numbers of serious and fatal collisions are seen.

Insp Baxter said, “There’s huge support from the public for this type of enforcement activity and it’s a vital element to keeping our roads safe. When you take risks, you are not just taking those risks on behalf of yourself, you are taking them on behalf of everyone using our roads. We make no apology for taking action to penalise those who break the law, putting themselves and others at risk. Lincolnshire is a big county and we can’t be everywhere, but we want to get across the message that we could be anywhere.”

You can take the pledge by simply sharing the embedded post on Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter).

Simon Outen-Coe, of the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, said: “In 2023, 48 people were killed and 378 seriously injured on the roads of Lincolnshire.

"The fatal 5 offences are often a contributory factor in those collisions and the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership, through its initiatives, remain determined to make our roads safer through: education; training; preventative activities; engineering interventions; and supporting Lincolnshire Police in its enforcement activities.

"Those figures reflect an enormous amount of distress affecting a huge number of individuals within our communities and we should all play our part in ensuring that we use the roads safely, which can be accomplished by taking the fatal 5 pledge.”

If you witness any suspected dangerous or careless driving offences, such as driving without due care and attention, not wearing a seatbelt, or failing to stop at a red traffic light, crossing solid white lines, or offences where a driver is clearly not in proper control of a vehicle, you can report the behaviour to police and upload footage using the Operation Snap online portal.

Find out more about Operation Snap at https://www.lincs.police.uk/police-forces/lincolnshire-police/areas/campaigns/campaigns/op-snap/