DORSET’S successful road safety campaign No Excuse is to be rolled out to other parts of the country.

The pioneering initiative, which saw drivers fined almost £1 million in just one year for flouting the law, has attracted interest from 14 other parts of the country.

And the No Excuse signs will now be appearing on roads up and down the country.

No Excuse was launched in January 2010 and uses heightened patrols and road checks to detect bad and dangerous driving.

In the first 12 months, 16,630 traffic offences were processed for offences such as speeding, not wearing seatbelts and using a mobile phone behind the wheel.

Dorset Road Safe says the message is getting across following a reduction in fatal and serious injuries.

In 2008 there were 36 fatal collisions and 401 serious injury collisions. This fell to 26 fatals and 352 serious injury collisions the following year. And in 2010 there were 18 fatal collisions and 331 serious injury collisions.

Brian Austin, project manager for No Excuse, said: “There will be continued use of covert cars and enhanced covert motorcycles to target drivers who put themselves and other road users at risk.”

He added the team will also stage further Surround a Town operations.

Rob Smith, road safety manager for Dorset County Council, added: “Some 14 other counties nationwide have requested briefings on the No Excuse methodology and, in most cases, they have sought permission to adopt the No Excuse signage in their areas.”