A HARD-HITTING road safety campaign including blitz breath testing, tougher action against speeders and more severe sentences for bad drivers is set to get the go-ahead in Lancashire after more than three years of planning.

Police road safety experts have drawn up a series of revolutionary measures based on a pioneering Australian project in Victoria.

The Victoria Road Safety saw drink driving and traffic accident figures fall dramatically.

Measures and policies which will be transported to Lancashire include booze buses designed to carry out mass breath testing of motorists as well as the stricter enforcement of speed limits and tougher sentencing in the courts.

Safety will also be at the top of the agenda when new road schemes are drawn up.

Police are aiming to change drivers' attitudes and will be hoping to get their message across through a huge publicity campaign.

And a report to today's Police Authority's policing committee has revealed the negotiations are reaching their final stages.

A special unit has been set up to ensure the scheme gets off the ground and officers have visited Australia to see the scheme in action. The team has also been looking at ways of funding the multi-million pound project and talks have been taking place with Government officials.

Home Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw supports the scheme in principle but has said the police needed to take a closer look at finance.

The Association of Chief Police Officers, the Police Authority and Lancashire County Council are also backing the plan.

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