Feisty politician admits to getting out of her car and arguing with speeding drivers tailgating her in Portsmouth

Councillor Lynne Stagg has insisted she is on a one-woman mission to stop careless drivers from breaking Portsmouth’s 20mph speed zones.

The Lib Dem highways and transport boss has even admitted to getting out of her own car and confronting drivers who flout the rules in an effort to teach them a lesson.

Cllr Stagg said she has been forced to take things into her own hands because the 20mph zones - which are in effect in several parts of the city - are ‘unenforced’ by police.

She said: ‘People just don’t care. There are still some idiots out there who travel too fast.

‘I take great pleasure in slowing down the drivers who are trying to travel above 20 miles per hour. They sometimes beep their horn at me.

‘I have had numerous arguments with motorists because of this. I have got out of my car before and said “what’s your problem?”.’

The councillor has spoken out about her disgust at speeding motorists in an effort to make others from thinking twice.

She said that since the city introduced the zones, they have had an impact on safety.

But she was still frustrated by the number of people still failing to abide by the rules.

Cllr Stagg added: ‘The 20mph areas are having an effect, it has reduced accidents and serious accidents by about 40 per cent.

‘The trouble is a lot of people in the city just don’t adhere to it. Police will not enforce it.’

Stuart Potter, of Paulsgrove, is the chairman of UKIP Portsmouth, and agreed more needed to be done to improve road safety in the city.

Speaking of the speed zones, Mr Potter said: ‘These 20mph speed limits are totally unenforceable. We simply do not have the police numbers to enforce them so it’s just ignored. Most people don’t bother with them.

‘It makes these speed limits pointless because they’re unenforceable.

‘You could could get the odd person here or there who are stung by police for speeding but that’s normally only because the police were travelling right behind them.

‘This is nothing against police, they’ve got limited resources and have to do the best with what they’ve got. But we need to better educate drivers about these speed limits in built-up areas.’

Hampshire police said it would do all it could to punish speeding drivers.

A spokeswoman said: ‘Excessive or inappropriate speed has a singularly devastating impact on the safety of road users, increasing both the risk of a crash and the severity of the consequences.

‘People need to realise it’s a speed limit and not a target so it may be more appropriate to travel at a lower speed depending on the road conditions for their own safety.

‘Just a few miles an hour can make a significant difference to you reacting and being able to avoid a hazard or collision. It is not worth the risk.’