A MONTH-long crackdown on speeding motorists has been launched to cut the toll of injuries and deaths on County Durham's roads.

Officers will target speeding hotspots using a mobile infra-red speed camera, and cars will be fitted with video cameras.

Marked and unmarked vehicles will be used, and some will be fitted with television monitors to provide an instant play-back to erring drivers.

The Speed Kills campaign is the first to be undertaken since the formation of the county's speed management strategy group.

Last year, 24 people died in accidents on the county's roads and 2,458 were injured - 242 of them seriously. Almost a third of the accidents were speed-related.

Assistant Chief Constable Ron Hogg said: "The public seems incapable of absorbing the message that speed kills.

"Too many drivers have the idea that speeding is socially acceptable, and don't think about the consequences of their thoughtlessness.

"In the long term, we hope to make speeding as socially unacceptable as drinking and driving now is.

"While we will take firm action with regard to enforcement during this campaign, we also aim to educate motorists through the use of the television monitors on video cars.

"Normally law-abiding people are often horrified when video tapes of their driving are played back to them showing what they have done wrong.''

Ten organisations, including Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council, are involved in the five-year speed management strategy.

Chris Tunstall, Durham County Council's environmental and technical services director, said it was a new approach to tackle speeding through a long-term strategy involving different organisations.

He said: "As the highways authority, we have a special interest in ensuring it is effective.

"While we have more than met the Government's stringent targets, the number of speed-related accidents remains stubbornly high.

"We hope that our joint efforts will produce lasting results that one-off campaigns have not.''