HALF of all motorists caught speeding in West Yorkshire are driving at no more than 8mph above 30mph speed limits, it has been revealed.

Safety experts say they are now trying to re-educate people to stick to the 30mph limit.

The West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership - the group which operates the county's speed cameras - has started a campaign called The Lamp-post Is Your Friend!

The partnership says that if people are driving in built-up areas with street lighting, the speed limit is always 30mph and people should stick to it.

The limit only rises when people can see small repeater signs on the roadside.

The partnership's head of communications, Philip Gwynne, said: "About half of all fixed-penalty speeding notices issued in West Yorkshire are for offences of driving at around 36mph, 37mph or 38mph in a 30mph zone.

"This underlines the scale of the challenge faced in encouraging drivers to respect speed limits in urban areas.

"A common complaint from people who've received a penalty notice is that there were no signs to show them they were in a 30mph limit.

"The lamp-post campaign reminds motorists that if you're driving through a built-up area and there are no other speed limit signs, the presence of street lights denotes a 30mph speed limit," added Mr Gwynne.

"It's the absence of signs that tells the driver they are in a 30mph area."

He concluded: "If in doubt, travel at no more than 30mph in built-up areas and you'll always avoid a speeding fine."