Police officers from across North Yorkshire are taking part in two weeks of activity to raise road safety awareness amongst 17-24 year olds.
Operation Spotlight is a national campaign which runs for a fortnight ( 22 September – 05 October) and sets out to reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured by focusing on the “fatal five” offences.
They are careless driving, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, excessive speed and distracted driving, including mobile phone use.
North Yorkshire Police encompasses the largest geographical area from any police force in England and Wales. They police 6,000 miles of road which makes road safety a force priority.
In North Yorkshire alone, there have been 15 serious and fatal collisions involving 17-24 year olds in the first seven months of this year (January – July 2025).
National statistics show that male car drivers aged 17 to 24 are four times as likely to be killed or seriously injured compared with all car drivers aged 25 or over. This is often down to thrill-seeking behaviour and peer pressure from other passengers.
Throughout the two weeks, the Road Safety Team will be out and about hosting various college talks to encourage young people to think about the choices that they make on the roads and how they impact on others.
The team presented talked to nearly 300 students at Askham Bryan College near York on Wednesday.
On the road network, officers have increased the number of patrols and roadside stops on an evening when young people are most likely to be out and about. The stops have predominantly focused on engagement but where appropriate officers have used enforcement measures to combat the fatal five offences.
Inspector Clive Turner from North Yorkshire Police said: “Newly qualified or younger drivers unfortunately do feature highly in our collision statistics mainly due to lack of experience.
“It’s encouraging to see how the college talks from our Road Safety Team land with the students, each one is one less potential fatal or serious collision prevented.
“We will continue to raise awareness, target dangerous driving and ultimately save lives”.
