A rocketing number of speeding offences is reflective of the “bad” and “risky” driving habits picked up when there were fewer cars on the road during the peak of Covid.

Essex Police recorded 5,013 speeding offences in June 2019. That figure more than doubled to 10,284 in June 2022.

There has also been an increase in the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) since Covid. There was a three per cent increase from the 12 months to March 2020 when there were 820 KSIs compared to the 12 months to March 2022 when there were 846 KSIs.

The rolling 12 month figures from Essex Police show there was a 31 per cent increase in the number of KSIs in Essex for the 12 months to March 2022 compared to the 12 months to March 2021 when there were 648 KSIs.

Roger Hirst, Police, Fire, and Crime Commissioner for Essex said it was possible that poor and illegal driving habits picked up during Covid when there were fewer vehicles on the road have continued even though there is more traffic now on the road.

He has now indicated that a campaign may be needed to remind people that poor driving is unacceptable.

He told the LDRS: “What we do know is that during lockdown the percentage of bad driving went through the roof. There were very many fewer passenger miles driven but there were an awful lot of people driving badly during that period.

“And what seems to have happened is that people picked up worse driving habits during lockdown because the roads were freer and those worse driving habits are sticking now the volume of traffic is back up again.

“So we have quite a lot more bad driving.

“Anecdotally it is not just speeding. It is quite an array of bad driving – not stopping at stop signs, overtaking on the near side on two lane carriageways. There is a lot of risky stuff happening.”

He said it was particularly concerning to see the number of speeding offences being perpetrated in 30mph zones – from 1,898 in June 2019 to 5,529 in June 2022. The number of speeding offences in 70mph zones went up from 139 to 950 in the same period.

He said: “And the really upsetting thing in the stats is the volume in the 30mph zones. The volume in the 30mph zones is really bad and of course that is where the pedestrians are and that is why they are 30mph zones.

“And pedestrians and cyclists are too often the victim in accidents that cause serious injury or even death. We are seeing the number of people killed and seriously injured as well to levels above what they were before lockdown.”

He added that a new campaign may be needed to educate people into driving more sensibly – while sticking to the pledge of the Safer Essex Roads Partnership’s Vision Zero commitment- its ambition to have zero road deaths and serious injuries on roads in the Essex, Southend and Thurrock council areas by 2040.

Mr Hirst added: “We are very well aware of the problem, the trend is one that I would recognise.

“The Safer Essex Road Partnership is on the case . We have got Vision Zero out there which is getting to the point where we have no people killed on our roads.

“It’s a long term goal but we have to do a lot to get there. One of the things we were talking about at the last strategy meeting we had was do we need in the short term term a new safe driver campaign. Because it is bad behavior and people need reminding what better behaviour is.”

The figures are even more surprising given that so many people were speeding coincided at at a time when the cost of fuel hit around £1.89 in Essex.

Mr Hirst added: “There is certainly the fact that if you drive more cautiously you use less fuel. One would rather have hoped that given the cost of fuel people might be doing that and they clearly are not.”