Where Are Chippenham's Speedwatch Volunteers hiding?
By Lois_Avery | Tuesday, May 10, 2011, 17:50
Community speedwatch volunteers have been thanked by Wiltshire Council and the local police for helping them catch so many offenders – but where are they hiding in Chippenham?
You may have seen them occasionally, they wear high visibility jackets and sit/stand along main roads of areas of notable speed and clock your speed as you pass.
But considering there are now 42 groups doing this across the county I still haven’t seen one in Chippenham. Have you?
Community speed watch was launched in 2009 as a pilot scheme with three groups.
And has since expanded rapidly. They now play a key part in the police and council’s joint road-monitoring effort.
And the figures prove their worth.
Since March 2010 and until April 15 2011 748 speed watch checks took place, 4,807 motorists have received warning letters and a further nine have received penalty notices. In total, 154,059 cars passed through community speed watch checks during that time.
Persistent offenders that are identified as a result of the monitoring are sent warning letters.
And if drivers continue to flout the speed limit the police can step in.
Cabinet member for highways, Dick Tonge, said: “Community Speed Watch has been a fantastic success story.
“It has demonstrated the dedication local people have to helping address issues in their own communities.
“The scheme has also shown how the local community, the police and council can all work together.
Brian Moore the Chief Constable of Wiltshire also praised the groups: "The work they do for us all has been a great success not just within communities but motorists also are pleased and although Wiltshire is not yet fully covered I hope that it soon will be. The volunteers can be proud of the example they are setting to everyone because it shows that when we all work together re really can make a difference.”
What do you think about the Speedwatch programme, perhaps you’ve been caught? And if you know where they operate in Chippenham I’d love to know (just out of interest, not so I can avoid them as I speed around town!)
Comments
I have seen them occasionally down around theBridge Centre. Entirely agree about Hungerdown Lane, not to mention the many roads that lead off it, I'm thinking of Sheldon Road and Ladyfield Road, long and straight and magnets to speeding vehicles of all kinds..
By chipshrew at 21:23 on 10/05/11
Report@mjhudston : To find out more, go to wiltshire.police.uk and use their search feature for "speedwatch" :
http://tinyurl.com/6xnn9ef
"Community Speed Watch will only take place at locations where there is an identified speeding issue"
By max_allan at 20:54 on 10/05/11
ReportI'd like to see them along the Bristol Road in the 40 section heading out of town.
Most weekends I'll hear someone open up a big engine, then a few seconds later the police siren kicks in. By the time they get stopped they're normally outside my house. Unmarked police car and a sheepish looking t1t in an Astra GTi wearing a knockoff Burberry cap.
That doesn't seem to deter loads of other people who seem to think that a wider road and a 40 limit mean they can crank it way above 40.
I'd be up for doing speedwatch outside my own house for a few hours a week but if I have to go sit random places away from easy access to refreshments and internet, I'm less keen...
By max_allan at 20:47 on 10/05/11
ReportIn the 10 years I have lived here, I have seen them once on Hungerdown Lane, and that is it. WE could do with far more in Chippenham, especially along Hungerdown Lane and along Rowden, where people seem oblivious to the 30MPH Speed limit.
Rowden Hill has had one fatality this year, and Hungerdown lane has literally hundreds of kids walking to and from the schools, yet people still speed.
I for one would be willing to give a few hours a week some to this cause, but have no Idea who to approach.
By mjhudston at 19:55 on 10/05/11
Report