A Southfield community roadwatch survey finds almost one per minute exceed limit

A Community Roadwatch in Southfield has found that many drivers- almost one per minute- are not recognising the 20 mph speed limit.

The average speed of vehicles recorded exceeding the 20mph speed limit in Southfield is 27mph, although one vehicle was observed doing 52mph along Southfield Road!

During the last month, community volunteers have been out with the police conducting speed checks on various roads throughout Southfield.

They have been recording the details of vehicles travelling at 25mph or more in the 20mph zone which covers all streets in the ward. During this time, which totalled 293 minutes, 227 vehicles were caught doing 25mph or more – not far short of 1 vehicle every minute.

Community Roadwatch (CRW) is a road safety scheme run in partnership by Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police Service, and the City of London Police, in which local residents work with the police Safer Transport Team in their borough, and use speed detection equipment to identify speeding vehicles.

The scheme is not an enforcement exercise, rather it is intended to alert and educate drivers to the existence of speed limits, and to improve road safety by encouraging motorists to reduce their speed in residential areas. The community volunteers record the details of vehicles travelling at 25mph or more, but no attempt is made to stop the vehicles, or signal drivers to slow down.

The registered keeper of each speeding vehicle will receive a warning letter from the police. If caught again, a second letter will sent to the registered keeper warning that if caught a third time the vehicle will be added to police Automatic Number Plate Recognition (APNR) system.

Any vehicle caught speeding on 3 or more occasions will be considered to targeted enforcement (fines and points), but this will not be part of the CRW activity.

A similar survey was conducted recently by Lib Dem councillors and volunteers on Acton Lane. The group observed thirty vehicles in one hour going above the 20 MPH speed limit.

Acton Lane

Drivers appear to be ignoring the speed limit across the country. The latest figures released by the Department for Transport show that 81 per cent of cars recorded at nine sites across the country in 2016 broke the limit, with a handful - 15 per cent - travelling at more than 30mph.

Motoring groups have said the low limit zones should only be imposed where they are supported by local communities, and warned that many are not being consulted before the limit is lowered

The 20mph zones were first introduced across residential streets in Chiswick in 2016 and were extended to take in all of Chiswick High Road from Chiswick roundabout, to the junction with Stamford Brook, and Chiswick Lane as well as Turnham Green Terrace. Bath Road was also included. Only the Great West Road (A4) and the A316 were excluded from the scheme.

Chiswick (under Hounslow Council) extended the scheme to keep pace with Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham Councils and to ensure that there would not be a 'patchwork' of different speed limits, which the Councils said would be confusing for motorists.

Over a 5 year period Hounslow Council expect the impact of this measure to be 75 fewer casualties on the borough’s roads.

The move was part of a London-wide plan to curb urban speeds in residential areas. In June 2015, the then Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced his target to halve the number of people killed or injured on London's roads by 2020.

July 28, 2017