15,000 motorists caught jumping red lights in Bristol

More than 15,000 motorists a year are caught jumping red lights in Bristol, it has been revealed.

The Avon and Somerset Safety Camera Partnership says a total of 15,500 drivers and motorcyclists were caught on camera going through red traffic lights last year.

But the figure does not include cyclists, who cannot be traced using static cameras and against whom a series of police operations have been staged in the city in recent months.

The safety camera partnership has announced that drivers who have been caught jumping a red light will be able to attend workshops similar to those organised for people caught speeding instead of being given points on their licence.

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Partnership spokesman David Gollicker said the workshops, which will be run at centres in Shirehampton, Keynsham and Taunton, will be run from May.

Mr Gollicker said: "There has been massive support for this on our opinion surveys. We are introducing an education package for red light jumpers just like the one for people caught speeding."

There are 42 sites in Avon and Somerset where cameras record images of people going through traffic lights on red or amber.

While drivers and motorcyclists are easily traced through the registration number of their car, cyclists tend to get away with it unless they are caught in the act.

Speed Choice courses have been available to speeding drivers for the past six years and more than 120,000 drivers have chosen to attend a workshop to avoid penalty points.

From the beginning of next month, the option is to be extended to motorcyclists who break speed limits, ride through red traffic lights, cross double white lines or commit other traffic offences that would normally result in a licence endorsement.

The workshops for motorcyclists will also be held at Shirehampton, Keynsham and Taunton. They are non-profit-making with a £60 charge made to cover the cost. The three-hour courses, taken by expert instructors, will emphasise the importance of safe riding behaviour and the responsibility riders have for their own safety and that of their passengers and other road users.

All the courses are organised by the Safety Camera Partnership – now known as Safecam – with Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

The majority of drivers who have attended have rated the courses as good or very good – with 96 per cent saying they believed their driving had improved as a result of attending the workshop.

Speed Choice was launched in 2003 to reduce deaths and injuries in local roads.

Driver education manager Richard Fairhurst said: "Changing driver attitudes and behaviour is a key factor in helping to reduce collisions and casualties on our roads.

"As a result of the introduction of Speed Choice 120,000 people have now gained three hours of driver education that they otherwise would not have had. I am sure that must have made an extremely positive contribution to road safety in our area."