THE number of drivers caught speeding on Oxfordshire's roads has dropped dramatically, new figures suggest.

Just over 40,000 motorists were caught zooming past police cameras in 2018 - down from more than 63,000 in a 13-month period ending last June.

More than 10 per cent of offences occurred on the A41 near Bicester, with a councillor claiming one section of the road is 'marked with shrines' because of the number of accidents caused there.

An eye-watering 4,256 drivers were caught speeding by mobile camera vans on the road in 2018 - almost 12 motorists every day on average.

Read also: The number of drivers caught speeding on the A34 last year

County councillor Ian Corkin has campaigned for more safety measures on the A41, including a new footbridge, which is set to be built next year.

Mr Corkin admitted the statistic 'didn't surprise' him, adding that he had seen vehicles reaching 'extraordinary' speeds on the road.

He said: "While we were campaigning for the footbridge, the worst speed we measured was 132mph at 3.15 one afternoon.

"There's anecdotal evidence that the road carries a lot of high-powered, high-end vehicles."

The Ploughley councillor continued: "When I asked police for more enforcement, I was told there was nowhere safe the van could be positioned to improve it.

"It's unimaginable to think of people crossing for the bus stop and cars closing in at 100mph."

Read also: Fatal A41 stretch to get new footbridge

Last August, 29-year-old chef Thomas Nelson died after he lost control of his BMW on the A41 and crashed into a tree, injuring a pedestrian in the process.

Mr Nelson was driving towards junction nine of the M40 at speeds in excess of 100mph, although bumps in the road surface may have contributed to the crash.

A recent traffic survey revealed one in five vehicles on the A41 travel faster than the 70mph speed limit.

Read also: Chef died after losing control in high speed crash

Thames Valley Police did not confirm exactly where they stationed the mobile camera vans on the road, but Mr Corkin said he 'regularly saw' police vans monitoring the 40mph zone between Bicester and the Vendee Drive roundabout.

He added: "The A41 suffers because of its length.

"It's marked with shrines on the way to Aylesbury, it's quite shocking."

The 40,022 people caught speeding in 2018 marked a sharp drop from the 63,000 offences between June 1, 2017 and June 28 last year.

Read also: More than 20 motorists each day caught speeding on Botley Road

According to the latest figures, 21,587 motorists were clocked by 'attended' speed cameras in 2018.

These are sites enforced by mobile police vans, like the A41, where 2,300 more drivers were caught speeding than any other location.

The A40 in Oxford between the Wolvercote and Cutteslowe roundabouts was the next worst hotspot, with 1,956 offences.

This is in the division of county councillor Paul Buckley, who said residents had raised concerns when traffic lights were installed on the roundabouts in 2016.

He said: "People were worried it would tempt drivers to go fast if they were at the start of a long stretch of road with a green light at the end."

Read also: Car destroyed by fire in Cutteslowe roundabout crash

Ducklington Lane, in Witney, was the third worst location, with 800 motorists caught speeding on the 30mph road.

Meanwhile, the highest speed recorded on Thames Valley Police's fixed penalty system was 95mph on the A34 near Abingdon.

A total of 18,435 people were caught speeding by the county's non-attended cameras, which includes the two Botley Road cameras.

The Oxford Mail revealed last year that the cameras caught 7,998 drivers combined between June 1, 2017 and June 28.

However, Thames Valley Police did not provide a breakdown of offences for each non-attended camera.

Figures revealed in February showed police caught 16 per cent fewer speeding drivers on the A34 in Oxfordshire last year than in 2017, while the number of people pulled over by officers fell by more than 50 per cent.

James Upton, chief inspector of Thames Valley Police Roads Policing, previously told the Oxford Mail the drop was partly explained by a fall in officer numbers in recent years.

The force was asked to comment on the latest figures.