While there are signs that people these days act more responsibly when investing their money, the same cannot, unfortunately, be said when they get behind the wheel of a car.

Financial services provider Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) found that in Wiltshire during one 12-month period:

33,073 fixed penalty notices were issued for motoring offences such as speeding, careless driving and going through a red light;

16,721 more serious offences were considered by the courts that resulted in a further 7,648 drivers being found guilty of at least one motoring offence;

930 offences of driving a vehicle whilst under the influence of drink or drugs were committed.

CIS is calling for more people to act responsibly when behind the wheel of a car, whatever social pressures may apply, as pace of life and the need to be somewhere at a certain time is no excuse for irresponsible driving, such as speeding or using a mobile phone whilst driving.

Speeding offences are on the increase and over the last 10 years the number of fixed penalty notices issued has doubled.

In England and Wales in 2000, the last year for which statistics are available, there were 1,164,896 speeding offences committed of which more than a million were issued with fixed penalty notices.

The total number of convictions in England and Wales in 2000 was 4,448,483 and the approximate total value of fines imposed at magistrates' and crown courts was £111,744,673.

CIS general manager Martin Clarke said: "Everyone is well aware of the consequences that the actions of irresponsible motorists can cause to innocent motorists and their families.

"Providing insurance isn't just about picking up the pieces after a loss has occurred. It is also about preventing those losses from happening in the first place and if a more responsible approach to driving was taken, our roads would be a much safer and cheaper place to be."

A safety camera initiative launched in Wiltshire this year will see cameras checking motorists' speed at 100 sites throughout the county.

At the launch of the initiative, chief constable Elizabeth Neville said: "Between 1998 and 2000 an average of 468 people were killed or seriously injured each year in road traffic collisions in Wiltshire and Swindon.

"Excess speed or inappropriate use of speed is held to be a factor in 33 per cent of all collisions. Safety cameras work in reducing speed and casualties but we don't want to catch you we just want you to slow down."

The 18 per cent reduction per year in people killed or seriously injured in road accidents that is expected as a result of the safety cameras installed equates to three orthopaedic bed savings and a one per cent reduction in accident and emergency department attendance per year in Wiltshire.

An orthopaedic bed costs £1,000 per day.

There were 660 admissions to hospital in Wiltshire as a result of traffic collisions during 2001, resulting in a total stay of 4,015 days in hospital.