Devon’s average speed cameras have hit the headlines again – this time after motorists complained to the press that they had been caught twice while on the same journey.

In one case this happened when someone drove too quickly through the 20mph zone in Old Laira Road in Plymouth, then again in the 30mph zone along Billacombe and Elberton Road.

One fixed penalty notice can spoil your day, so getting two must be upsetting. Irate with the road safety camera partnership, he told his story to the media.

There is something about motoring offences that society still thinks of as socially acceptable. You couldn’t imagine someone complaining to the press, with their picture and name published, that they had been caught too many times by police with cocaine on them, or that over-zealous officers had insisted on charging them each time they committed grievous bodily harm.

These average speed cameras are there for a reason. People live on these roads and are at risk from speeding drivers in an area with multiple obstacles. The cameras are there with the consent of the communities they protect. And, of course, there’s a simple way to avoid getting caught speeding.

The charity Brake tells us that someone is killed or seriously injured every 16 minutes on British roads, and although we live in a relatively crime free part of the country, there are far too many deaths on Devon and Cornwall’s highways.

Appeals for clemency by drivers who flout the law and put others at risk are likely to fall on deaf ears when they reach Devon and Cornwall’s roads police officers. That’s because these poor officers had to knock on 47 doors last year to tell families that a loved one was never coming home.

The tragedy is that most roads casualties will have been avoidable.

And those who argue that they can drive safely at speed are simply wrong. Excess speed is a contributory factor in one in three crashes and can be the difference between life and death.

We are coming towards the end of a three-week nationwide operation, spearheaded by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

For the sakes of all of those who have lost a loved one all members of society, whether they are drivers or not, this week I will be asking you to do you bit to make speeding every bit as unacceptable as drink driving now is.

And until there are no deaths on our roads I will support police enforcement action that ultimately takes licences away from the irresponsible and reckless, and make no apologies for it.