A senior police figure has backed concerned Herefordshire villagers’ efforts to control speeds on local roads.
Councillors from Stretton Sugwas, Breinton and Bishopstone parishes had complained to deputy police and crime commissioner for West Mercia, Marc Bayliss, that the A438 corridor west of Hereford has long suffered from speeding.
“Roads are West Mercia’s biggest killers, and we are committed to working with you on this,” Mr Bayliss told them.
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“We say to villages, there are a lot of things you can do – though the problems won’t be solved overnight.”
The force’s traffic management advisor Ian Connolly said that putting in white gates at village entrances and removing central white lines “are part of the package”, adding: “It’s not one-size-fits-all.”
Stretton Sugwas councillor Garnet Cresswell expressed exasperation at obstacles he and others had faced in their efforts to control speeding locally, from restrictions on where speed cameras could be sited, to delays in the vetting of would-be volunteers.
And while police had issued them with hi-viz jackets and a speed gun and provided training, “we have to let them know in advance where we will do it, which needs a minimum of three people”, he said.
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Information on vehicles passed by volunteers to police then prompts a letter to the driver and, on the third occasion, a visit in person.
Police have also granted Stretton Sugwas funding for a speed indication device, capable of being moved around the parish, “but we still have to raise half the money ourselves”, Coun Cresswell said.
Bishopstone parish councillor Charlie Taylor, who also represents Credenhill ward at county level, said by taking this approach “we are trying to do drivers a favour” by avoiding the need for speed cameras and other enforcement measures.
But she suggested parishes swap their teams around, as “they don’t want to be catching their mates”.
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And Mr Connolly warned that, while volunteers could photograph speeding vehicles, “this could put you in a position of potential conflict” with drivers.
Mr Bayliss added that the police themselves are now more able to enforce speed limits using modern TruCam devices which can be operated by a single officer, even remotely.
Meanwhile technology within vehicles “will help us” by causing vehicles to automatically slow down in response to either obstacles or speed limits, he said.
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