ADVANCED technology has caught up with speeding drivers on the A361 North Devon Link Road.

Recently installed sensors embedded in the road are providing the Devon Countrymile project with the clearest ever picture of the safety issues surrounding vehicle speeds on the road.

Unlike other devices, the new sensors can recognise vehicle types, ranging from motorcycles to large goods vehicles, and can determine the following distance between vehicles as well as their speed.

The versatility of this detailed information is enabling Devon County Council to work with its enforcements partners to identify the specific times of the week where motorists are exhibiting risky driver behaviour.

Initial signs are that this is helping target enforcement resources.

Devon County Council, Devon and Cornwall Police, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, the Devon and Cornwall Safety Camera Partnership, Devon Primary Care Trust and South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust, are working in partnership on the Devon Countrymile to improve rural road safety, specifically in the area between Exeter and Barnstaple, bordered by the A361, the A377 and the A396.

The A361 North Devon Link Road has a history of collisions resulting from excessive or inappropriate use of speed and other risk taking behaviours.

Recent instances of vehicles caught travelling at high speeds on the road have resulted in highly publicised prosecutions.

These include a motorcyclist who was recently jailed for speeding at 122mph, on a wet road, with his 14-year-old son on the pillion.

A motorist was also prosecuted following a deliberate attempt to avoid detection by a static Gatso camera by driving on the wrong side of the road at 90mph.

Further new technology is also being deployed at problem times and locations. Advanced speed detection vans, operated by the Devon and Cornwall Safety Camera partnership, have 'all-round' rather than one-directional surveillance capability.

The new vans are supported by a new enforcement motorcycle, funded by Devon County Council, equipped with speed detection equipment.

These high profile policing measures are being coordinated with the Roads Policing Unit, in areas along the road where the data is revealing speed-related safety issues which cannot readily be addressed by other means.

Cllr Margaret Rogers, Devon County Council Executive Member for Environment, said: "This new technology is allowing the partners involved in the Countrymile project to gather more information than ever before to improve road safety, and is the first of several measures planned to reduce the number of casualties on the A361.

“Drivers who take risks can be targeted much more closely, and this equipment should deter that kind of driving behaviour.

“We hope motorists will take heed, slow down and help us share our Devon country mile in safety."