Launch of Highcliffe Community SpeedWatch Scheme7 October 2020
Highcliffe and Walkford Parish Council has supported Cllr. Nigel Brooks in establishing a Community Speedwatch Scheme.
Please find below a letter from Cllr Brooks giving more detail and inviting any residents to contact him if they could be interested in taking part.
I am sure that this will strike a chord with many of you!
Richard Reader
HRA Director and Secretary
LETTER FROM Cllr. NIGEL BROOKS:
I am pleased to advise Highcliffe residents that as Ward Councillor a Community Speed Watch scheme for Highcliffe has been established.
Under Dorset Police's direction I am 'signing-up' a small group volunteers to run the scheme. Given the importance of the Parish's traffic management initiatives as part of the 'Revitalise the High Street, Highcliffe' project, as well as the sad death of a resident in a road traffic accident in Wharncliffe Road in July, this is an important step to establish evidence of speeding vehicles.
I shall be pleased if one or more you will come forward and join with me as a volunteer.
My principal concern is in respect of speeding on the A337 Lymington Road, where speed has been a contributing factor to a number of accidents, but would also include other roads in our area. i.e. Hoburne Lane, Ringwood Road. Perhaps like me you have found turning out on to Lymington Road from a side-road to be very difficult given the speed of passing vehicles.
I will act as the scheme coordinator and I will be responsible for funding equipment etc as part of my BCP Councillor commitment to support our community.
I don't think the time commitment will be that great and not all volunteers would be required at the same time!
If you are happy to put yourself forward please email me nigeldbrooks@hotmail.com and I will send you more details.
Thank you.
Cllr Nigel Brooks
Ward Councillor Highcliffe & Walkford
Parish Councillor Highcliffe & Walkford
Community Speed Watch
Community Speed Watch (CSW) is a partnership initiative that is aimed at raising awareness and encouraging speed reduction. Reducing speed will directly contribute to help saving lives and will improve the quality of life for people within the County. It is an opportunity for you to get involved in making the roads safer where you live.
Speed is a major factor in about a third of all traffic collisions. Each year, in excess of 700 people die and more than 4,500 are injured nationally as a result of speeding.
Dorset Police is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and seriously injured through road collisions each year. Speed is one of the fatal five main contributory factors to road collisions. The others being drink/drug driving, use of mobile phone whilst driving, failing to wear a seat belt and driver distractions and careless driving.
How does Community Speed Watch work?
- Each Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) area will have a CSW Liaison Officer.
- This officer can either pro-actively recruit members of the community to take part in CSW and / or they will receive requests from the public to initiate a CSW in a given area.
- Police assurance checks to be carried out on all new volunteers.
- Once the checks have been satisfactorily completed, the Liaison Officer can provide training to the members of the public in the use of the speed checking equipment and give advice on where it can be used.
- As and when the CSW team carry out speed checks, they will record how many vehicles were checked and how many were observed exceeding the speed limit thresholds (25 mph in a 20mph area and 36 mph in a 30mph area and 47 mph in a 40mph area).
- A warning letter will be sent by Dorset Police to the registered keeper on the first two occasions that their vehicle is seen exceeding the speed limit. If the vehicle is observed for a third time, an action will be sent to the local NPT for further attention.
- However, on occasions Policing Support Officers will conduct joint speed enforcement sessions alongside of Community Speed Watch groups. On these occasions Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIPS) notices will be issued to vehicles detected speeding.
