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‘Speeding fears are unfounded’
By Lewis Rudd -October 26, 2010
Residents in Wokingham who say their neighbourhood is blighted by speeding have been told the issue is not great enough to warrant a speed crackdown.
Neighbours living in the Evendons ward of the borough were last week told the data related to accidents along roads within the area is not sufficient to warrant a mobile or fixed speed camera or other safety improvements.
The news was broken to those who attended a meeting of the Wokingham Town and Evendons Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) at the Scout Hut in Evendons Lane on Monday, October 11.
At a meeting of the NAG earlier in the year residents highlighted speeding as the number one priority they would like to see addressed.
However, at its meeting last week Andrew Luck, traffic management officer for Thames Valley Police, revealed the number of accidents recorded on roads such as Evendons Lane, Blagrove Lane and Nash Grove Lane in the past three years was not enough to warrant tougher action.
He revealed how, in the three years leading up to July, three accidents had been reported in Blagrove Lane, but none were on file in Evendons Lane or Manor Road.
Mr Luck, who is employed by the force to ensure enforcement or projects carried out by officers on the highways are legal, explained how tougher action is prioritised on roads which are notorious for accidents and have higher incident rates.
He said: “Inspector Nigel Scarrett [of Wokingham police] asked me to look at roads such as Blagrove Lane and Evendons Lane and look at accident rates and those statistics.
“Having looked at the data available this would sadly not be a priority for Wokingham Borough Council or Thames Valley Police.
“This is because attention is given to other areas in the borough where there maybe 30 or 40 recorded accidents.
“It is certainly not enough for permanent enforcement or a mobile camera in a van.”
Mr Luck, however, did suggest alternative ways for the NAG to address the problem.
He said a lot of NAGs, town and parish councils in the borough are using Speed Indication Devices (SIDs) to catch out those disobeying local speed limits.
The device records the speed of a car as it passes, while local volunteers take down the make, model and registration of the car.
Any driver found to be a repeat offender is initially sent a letter warning them they have been caught speeding, and those continually breaking the limits have their details passed on to the roads policing team.
Mr Luck believes this method is starting to have an effect in Wokingham, as drivers threatened with enforcement are showing more consideration to avoid further punishment.
He also called on residents to ask the council to carry out speed surveys in the area if they feel the problem is persistent, or make police officers aware at what time of day speeding is a particular issue.
“A lot of SID work is happening in Wokingham at the moment,” said Mr Luck.
“If you feel there is a speeding problem on the roads take appropriate action with the council and ask them to carry out speed surveys, which I would support, on specific roads.”
PCSO Victoria Williams, who was at the meeting, said she is keen to get together with residents and use a SID in the area.
She said: “A SID is a really good tool to use to be able to get a picture of when and where speeding is taking place and what time it is happening.
“It can be used to look at the roads that are causing residents concerns and can be used on particular times over a month so we can put together little pieces of data showing what speed people are travelling at and whether or not we have a problem.”
Police patrols and focusing on the actual problems and cause for the behaviour at this location, is much more likely to help to resolve the situation. Reminding motorists too, to act responsibly, VAS and public info films too would assist.
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