Campaign to crackdown on speeding Walsall cars
These woman are armed with speed guns – and they aren’t afraid to use them.
Residents are taking to the streets, as part of a crackdown on dangerous drivers.
It is all thanks to a group of community volunteers getting themselves organised – and the delivery of £2,000 worth of community-funded speed watch equipment.
Councillor Angela Underhill and Rose Burley were out in Walsall alongside police and others to put a stop to speeding.
The equipment flashes up when a car is caught driving too fast. The registration is noted and a ‘sternly’ worded letter is sent out urging them to drive with care in the future. Now, after a successful start in Darlaston, they are hoping that groups across the borough will join the campaign.
Councillor Underhill said: “The idea is that it monitors the speed of traffic – we can go out, with police for our own safety. Any community can use it and can see the speed of cars coming past and take registration numbers.
“Then people are written to sternly that they were going over the limit. We won’t take action or make fines at the moment, whether they will in the future I’m not sure but its just to remind people to stop speeding. Going out with it we were surprised with the results. We can hear people’s foots going off the accelerator.”
During a two-hour stint in the Victoria Avenue area, the group caught two people driving over the 40mph speed limit.
But those behind the scheme hope it will work as a deterrent when they see the equipment.
Councillor Underhill added: “Even if its just a deterrent then that to me is far more important than catching people speeding.
“The equipment has got a lot of people interested, people in the street wanted to find out what was happening.”
“We’re hoping quite a few people will get involved. It can be used all over Walsall and you just set it up to the speed of the road and if a car goes over three or four miles it flashes up.
“We’re hoping to do it once a week and we’ve offered to do it, but we hope other community groups offer to do it. And hopefully we can just do it ourselves without the police.”
