Police urge public to help tackle speeding on borough road
Police are encouraging residents concerned about speeding on a borough street to consider joining a 'community speed watch' scheme
Officers in the Dawley area of Telford said they were aware of speeding becoming an issue on King Street – and have urged the public to get involved in tackling the problem.
Community Speed Watch is a scheme where members of the monitor the speed of vehicles in areas where concerns have been highlighted.
Although they cannot issue fines to drivers seen speeding they can send letters to the vehicle owner encouraging them to keep their speed down.
The speeding data will also be collected by the police who will use it to work out how serious the problem is – and if more action needs taking.
Dawley and Malinslee Police Community Support Officer, Claire Ellis, said: "It has recently been brought to our attention that speeding is becoming a bigger issue on King Street in Dawley. Is this something that you would like to help tackle or are passionate about. You may like to consider registering for Community Speed Watch.
"Community Speed Watch is a community driven road safety initiative, coordinated by West Mercia Police but managed and run by volunteers in the community. It has now been running for eight years in West Mercia and we’re reminding local residents about the scheme and how you can get involved as a volunteer if speeding traffic is causing concern.
"The scheme involves trained volunteers monitoring the speeds of vehicles with approved, hand-held speed measurement devices. Where vehicle speeds are found to be inappropriate, a letter is sent to the registered keeper by the police with the aim of encouraging them to reduce their speed when driving in the future.
"A Community Speed Watch scheme is initiated when ‘speeding traffic’ has been identified as a community road safety concern by a parish council. Therefore, it’s important to raise any concerns about speeding traffic to your local parish council in the first instance.
"In areas where community concerns about speeding are raised, speed data will be collected by West Mercia Police to determine the nature of the problem and action will be taken accordingly."
For information about what is required to set up a speed watch area visit https://www.westmercia.police.uk/news/west-mercia/news/2022/february/could-you-make-a-difference-to-the-safety-of-the-roads-in-your-community/
