From April 7 to 13, 2025, traffic police across Europe united under ROADPOL – the European Roads Policing Network – for the year’s first continent-wide Speed Operation, with the flagship 24-hour Speed Marathon held on April 9th.
The initiative mobilized tens of thousands of officers in more than 20 countries, aiming to curb speeding and promote safer driving habits. The Speed Marathon, the world’s largest organized anti-speeding event, saw massive enforcement efforts using both direct interventions and automated systems.
Results
In Latvia, the State Police reported 1,902 speeding violations caught directly by officers, and another 9,012 registered via automated systems. Seven drivers were stripped of their licenses, while 19 others were banned from driving.
The Czech Republic once again embraced strong public involvement, allowing citizens to nominate enforcement locations. Over 13,000 suggestions and more than 117,000 votes were collected—five times more than last year. Throughout the 24-hour marathon, 742 officers inspected nearly 7,000 vehicles at more than 1,100 selected sites, recording 1,857 speeding offences among a total of 3,005 violations.
Belgium set a new record with 1,339,602 vehicles checked during its Speed Marathon, with 3.99% of drivers caught speeding. Particularly alarming cases included a driver clocked at 151 km/h in a 50 km/h zone, and another at 185 km/h on a motorway. Immediate license suspensions followed in the most serious cases.
In Serbia, traffic police recorded 26,671 speeding offences throughout the Speed Control week, with 4,600 violations detected during the 24-hour Speed Marathon alone. Particularly concerning were more than 5,500 violations in pedestrian crossing zones.
Meaning
The Speed Operation highlights the shared European commitment to tackling speeding, which remains a leading cause of fatal road crashes. “Speed itself is not dangerous—speeding is,” emphasized Jana Peleskova from the Czech Police, Chair of ROADPOL’s Operational Working Group. “Our goal is not just to punish, but to protect lives through awareness and action. Prevention is the leading motive and this is why the control locations are published prior to the action day. Because our goal is not the punishment, but the prevention and public awareness”, Peleskova highlighted.