Traffic offenders contributed more than $18,000 to the public purse last week, police revealed yesterday.Road users who appeared before Magistrates’ Court were fined for crimes including drink-driving, driving without a licence and failure to have insurance.Speeding offences — with speeds of up to 82km/h recorded — were also heavily represented. Inspector Charlene Thompson, head of the roads policing unit, said her team were “not happy handing out tickets or bringing people to court”.She added: “We would much prefer to be handing out rewards for safe driving, as we have with our bottled water campaign, which was started last weekend”.But Ms Thompson warned: “The RPU, supported by patrol officers in other areas of the service, will maintain a visible and robust presence across the island and will not hesitate to take the necessary action against those road users who ignore the rules of the road which have been put in place to ensure the safety of all road users.”She added: “There is absolutely no need for anyone to be driving at 82 kilometres per hour.“The threat to life and limb posed by a vehicle being driven at that speed on our narrow winding roads is immense.“It is this type of behaviour that we must eliminate.”Assistant Commissioner of Police Martin Weekes said: “The BPS, while being proactive in the issuing of traffic summonses to motorists where offences occur, are very clear that poor driving habits cannot be fixed by the police and courts alone.“A joined-up approach to road safety is the only way we can reduce the number of collisions and save lives on the roads in Bermuda.” He added: “We will continue to work with our partners in the Road Safety Council and Cada to help educate the public and to look at ways to design out problem areas and find ways to prevent collisions.”