A roads campaigner behind a website that shames bad drivers is writing to police urging them to double the number of officers on the roads.

Andrew McGavin, of Burford, created BetterDrivingPlease.com two years ago allowing motorists to name and shame bad driving.

The site has almost 20,000 reports from around the country, including drivers going through red lights, speeding and using mobile phones and lists the culprits’ licence plates.

Now Mr McGavin is campaigning to double the number of police on the county’s roads — and last night claimed he has the backing of more than 8,000 supporters.

He said: “As the number of police officers on the roads has declined, so has the public’s respect for the police.

“There’s no coincidence there. The over-reliance on speed cameras has led to a ‘them and us’ situation, where the public perceives serial road offenders get away with their crimes.

“The answer is simple. The police must double the number of traffic officers patrolling the roads in Oxford.

“The money will be there in the years to come from budget savings dealing with a reduced number of accidents.”

There has been a 20 per cent decline in officers in the past decade and 1,507 fewer police officers patrolling the roads than in 1998, Mr McGavin claimed.

He said: “If Thames Valley Police did this at the same time as the Government switches off fixed speed cameras — turning them back on for just a few minutes each day — then overall law abiding motorists will feel it’s harder for criminals to get away with it. This will make them want to help the police more.”

More than 1.8 million people have visited the website to report or search through almost 20,000 reports since the site was set up two years ago.

The site does not identify drivers or give a description of vehicles reported, but does list licence plates.

Supt Mick Doyle, head of the roads policing in Oxfordshire, said there were no plans to increase the number of police on the roads and their main objective was to reduce the number of people killed and injured.

There was a 18 per cent drop in road deaths and six per cent fall in serious injuries last year, Mr Doyle added.

He said: “A contributing factor to this reduction has been through the education of drivers.

“We now offer driver diversion schemes as an alternative to receiving a fine, points on their licence or possible prosecution. This helps us to influence driver behaviour and make them safer drivers which are to the benefit of all roads users.

“Thames Valley Police has a wide responsibility to serve our communities and meet a whole range of demands and challenges.

“The numbers of officers and staff engaged in each aspect of policing is a matter for the professional judgement of the Chief Constable, judging by our performance.”

mwilkinson@oxfordmail.co.uk