VOLUNTEERS are better equipped to catch speeding drivers in Warwickshire thanks to the donation of new speed detectors.
Community Speed Watch (CSW) activities in Warwickshire now have six new Ultralite laser speed devices in their arsenal, funded by £10k of funding from Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Philip Seccombe’s Road Safety Fund.
Warwickshire Police Ch Insp Faz Chishty said: ”This year we have welcomed over 100 new Community Speed Watch volunteers, trained 93 and formed ten new Community Speed Watch groups at locations across the county including Wootton Wawen, Baginton, Wellesbourne, Newbold, Henley-in-Arden, Tanworth-in-Arden, Earlswood, Radford Semele, Pillerton Priors and Hampton Lucy – bringing the total to 56.
“This is great news, and the purchase of the six new laser speed devices means they can be loaned to our new CSW groups to enable them to get up and running straight away. “
Henley-in-Arden CSW volunteer John Clarke said: “The speed of traffic travelling through our market town is a real concern for our local community.
We are delighted to be working in unison with our local police force and have recently taken loan of a laser speed device. This will enable us to monitor vehicle speed and encourage drivers to slow down to protect the safety of our residents.
“We have also been working very closely with the Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership and our neighbourhood community of Wootton Wawen, to distribute communication material including ‘slow down’ bin stickers and posters to enforce this very important message.
“There are many other initiatives we are working on with the assistance of local and county representatives and we are making considerable progress to ensure Henley-in-Arden and Wootton Wawen are safer places to live and visit”.
Chair of Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership and Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: “I am delighted to be able to provide the six new LTI speed lasers and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that our CSW groups receive the support they deserve.
“Reducing speeding is a key priority for Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership and we are very grateful to all our Community Speed Watch volunteers who have stepped forward to address speeding in their local communities.
“These volunteers use their own time and as well as helping Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership to raise awareness of speeding, their visible presence reduces the speed of vehicles to the speed limit, improving the quality of life for local communities and most importantly helping to reduce death and injury on our roads.”
The new laser speed devices are now available for CSW volunteers to loan.
Over the longer term, the CSW group itself or the local parish council will independently purchase the LTI Speed Lasers, freeing up the ‘loan’ devices for new CSW groups.
Visit www.communityspeedwatch.org for more information on CSW.
Visit www.warksroadsafety.org.uk for more information about road safety in Warwickshire.
