434 speeding offences in just six hours: what happens when the speed guns get packed away?

434 speeding offences in six hours. That is the haul from the crackdown Macedonia's Interior Ministry carried out on November 1, from noon to 6 p.m., across the whole country. Of those, 192 drivers broke the speed limit in built-up areas, and the remaining 242 outside them.

On top of speeding, traffic police recorded another 103 offences and one case of the criminal offence of "reckless driving of a motor vehicle" under Article 297-a of the Criminal Code - the one meant for drivers who, by grossly breaking the rules, directly endanger other people's lives.

The maths is simple and unpleasant. That's more than 70 offences an hour, and only where a police officer was standing with a speed gun. And a built-up area means streets with schools, pedestrian crossings and children on the pavement - exactly where 192 drivers were going faster than allowed. What happens in the other 18 hours of the day, when the operation ends and the speed guns are packed away?

The police bulletin for the past 24 hours fills in the picture. Five drivers were detained for reckless driving. Three had never even passed a driving test - a 41-year-old from Saraj, a 29-year-old from Bogorodica and a 16-year-old from Tanuševci. A 22-year-old from Grčec was driving despite an active driving ban, and a 45-year-old from Debreše was caught drunk at the wheel. Criminal charges will follow against all five.

A sixteen-year-old behind the wheel, no licence, on a public road. Someone gave him the keys, or at least didn't hide them. The ministry says the checks will continue and appeals: "Respect the traffic rules and regulations, because every life matters." The appeal is right. But 434 offences in a single afternoon say that for many drivers the speed limit is still a suggestion rather than a rule - at least until they spot a police officer.