EVEN more dangerous drivers are getting away with speeding on the A34 than first thought.

New figures provided by Thames Valley Police show almost 30 per cent fewer reckless motorists were caught on the road between 2017 and 2018, after previous statistics revealed a 16 per cent drop.

Police said the inaccuracies were due to 'technical difficulties' resulting from the 'changeover of our fixed penalty administration system' during the period measured.

The latest figures also show 2,332 drivers were caught speeding on the southbound carriageway of the 50mph zone at Wytham, near the Botley Interchange, last year, down from 3,092 in 2017.

Read again: More than 63,000 speeding tickets handed out in a year

Police say the decline is partly explained by a fall in officer numbers in recent years, with the force now focusing on 'areas of significant concern'.

James Upton, chief inspector of Thames Valley Police Roads Policing, previously told the Oxford Mail that police restructuring had impacted enforcement.

He said: "We've been honest that there has been a change in the numbers of staff. That's always going to have an impact on the figures."

The new statistics reveal officer-operated mobile camera vans captured 4,775 reckless motorists on the road in 2017, but just 3,561 in 2018.

Read again: A34 speeding - the hotspots in Oxfordshire

This was significantly different to the figures previously provided as part of a freedom of information request, which showed a year-on-year fall from 3,871 to 3,253.

Wytham is one of four hotspots targeted by police, with 1,004 speeding motorists caught on the northbound carriageway in 2018, down from 1,421 one year earlier.

Just 225 drivers were caught at the other three A34 hotspots - Radley, Kennington and Abingdon North - compared to 262 in 2017.

Read more: 90 per cent of crashes caused by 'fatal four'

Yesterday, a new road safety campaign was launched in Oxfordshire after statistics showed 90 per cent of crashes were caused by the ‘fatal four’: not wearing a seatbelt, distraction, speeding and drink and drugs.

The number of motorists caught by police mobile vans at A34 hotspots:

  • Southbound at Wytham, 50mph limit - 2017: 3092, 2018: 2332
  • A34 Northbound at Wytham, 50mph limit - 2017: 1421, 2018: 1004
  • A34 Radley, 70mph limit - 2017: 80, 2018: 94
  • A34 Kennington, 70mph limit - 2017: 56, 2018: 14
  • A34 Abingdon North, 70mph limit - 126, 2018: 117