COMMUNITY SPEEDWATCH
Speed Watch Update March 2009.
We now have 15 people on the Speedwatch team and would welcome further residents that are interested in joining the team in order to assist in reducing the speed throughout the village.
We carried out our first Speedwatch on 23rd January and in two months (or 15 Speedwatches) the number of drivers contacted by the police for exceeding the 30mph limit is in excess of 400 !
We aim to carry out a Speedwatch 1-3 times a week until the speeds reduce to an acceptable level.
The top speed we have reported of a vehicle travelling through the village has been 61 mph, imagine what the result would be if he had hit a child travelling at this speed !
We have identified a small number of repeat offenders who the police are following up !
On one of the days when a Speedwatch team were out so were the Police, they were at one end of the village giving out a £60 fine and 3 points to anyone exceeding the limit, whilst the drivers the Speedwatch team reported, will also receive a letter from the police but on this occasion it will only be a warning !
In the past the Police who advised that 85% of the people they caught exceeding the limit lived in Ramsden Bellhouse. When the Police looked at the post codes of the people we have reported the feed back indicates that this has now dropped to between 5-10%!
These stats confirm that the vast majority of speeding vehicles reported are those travelling through the village, it is our intention to get them to slow down in order to reduce the risk of potential accidents.
We have been asked by residents of Ramsden Heath and Downham if we could operate in their villages, we advise that we could not and advised them to contact their local Parish Council and Police in order that they can set up their own Speedwatch teams.
The teams are grateful for the way in which the residents have embraced the Speedwatch initiative in order to make the roads safer for everyone, and give their thanks to those residents that have stopped to give their support and also to those who have offered or provided refreshments to the Speedwatch teams.
Dick Wellborne
