Wednesday 10 September 2014

Odd To See The Police Supporting This, Isn’t It?

Ian Connolly, Community Speed Watch Coordinator for the partnership said: “We’re very pleased with the results so far from the pilot scheme in Crowle. The local volunteers there have already carried out a number of speed monitoring sessions and warning letters have been sent out to motorists who were exceeding the speed limit."
The aim of the scheme is not to catch as many speeding drivers as possible, but to encourage them to drive within the speed limit.
Feedback from group members suggests that motorists visibly slow down when they see the volunteers by the roadside in high-visibility jackets, which is a positive effect in itself."
Funny. The police often fine people who perform the same ‘warning’ function.

Perhaps the hi-vis jacket makes all the difference?

4 comments:

Ted Treen said...

Not so much the Hi-Vis jacket, as the fact that there isn't a plod radar trap further down the road.

Plod thinks all this is a good idea - or at least positive PR - except when it interferes with their bigger aim of revenue collection.

MTG said...

I do hope volunteers are reimbursed, if only by excusing the component of each council tax bill which represents the charge for plod 'service'.

microdave said...

"Motorists visibly slow down when they see the volunteers by the roadside".

The other day I (only just) noticed a single plod, wearing a rather dirty Hi-Viz jerkin, standing beside the road using a tripod mounted radar gun. No sign of a car or any other colleagues further along. He appeared to be entering details into a smart phone...

Another tactic that I've only seen recently is a flashing speed sign erected behind an ordinary "beat" car, which shows a "Sad" face if you are over the limit!

"The aim of the scheme is not to catch as many speeding drivers as possible, but to encourage them to drive within the speed limit"

What really pisses me off is that the police, or volunteers, NEVER have a speed check on one end of our local estate road (a racetrack, where 2 lanes leaving a set of traffic lights merge into one). Yet they always manage to have one at the other (much less busy) end where a small dip in the road makes it easy (even for the most law abiding driver) to creep a few mph over the limit.

I once stopped and asked them why this was, only to be told "It isn't safe for us to operate a check at the other end" Presumably revenue targets are more important than safety, which is what we are told is the primary purpose...

JuliaM said...

"... except when it interferes with their bigger aim of revenue collection."

Spot on! At least the old time highwaymen had the decency to wear masks...

"He appeared to be entering details into a smart phone..."

He was probably running that force's official Twitter stream!

"...which shows a "Sad" face if you are over the limit! "

Yes, we had those for a while on a local road. I think they took them away when they realised drivers sped up just to set them off...