Dumfries and Galloway Council takes no action over 60,000 speeding cases

The top speed recorded on a council vehicle was 95mph in a 70mph limit

A council vehicle tracking system has recorded nearly 60,000 cases of speeding over four years but no staff have been disciplined or prosecuted.

Dumfries and Galloway Council fitted the equipment in pool cars and other vehicles in 2010.

Since then it has tracked thousands of incidents of the limit being broken by at least 10%, including a vehicle going at 95mph on the A74(M) near Moffat.

The tracking devices send out readings every few seconds.

It means a large number of incidents could be recorded in a short space of time.

The sent out warning emails but took no further action against the staff involved.

The figures were obtained via a Freedom of Information request by the BBC Scotland news website.

It found that more than 14,000 speeding incidents were recorded each year for the three years between 2011 and 2014.

Levels dropped significantly in 2014-15 as the number of vehicles fitted with tracking devices fell.

In addition, no statistics were available from a new tracking system because of "discrepancies" caused by different speed limits for different vehicles.

Ten speeds of 86mph or more have been recorded on vehicles in the past four years - the majority of them on the A74(M) motorway which has a limit of 70mph, but a number of them outside Dumfries and Galloway.

Warning emails

There were also two cases in which vehicles were tracked at 91mph and 89mph on the A75 where the speed limit is 60mph for the vast majority of the route.

The council confirmed no staff had been dealt with through disciplinary action or reported to the courts as a result of the incidents.

Warning emails are sent out to employees who break the limit.

A police spokesman said a number of factors including road conditions had to be taken into account before a prosecution would be sought.

However, he added that "excessive speed above the national limits" could lead to a conviction for dangerous or reckless driving.