Equipment boost for speedwatch
VOLUNTEERS in Shinfield are ramping up their Community Speedwatch programme.
Thanks to a new piece of equipment worth around £3,500, the group can now increase the number of sessions in the area.
Cllr Philip Emment, parish councillor for Three Mile Cross, said: “Speeding is an issue in Shinfield and we often receive many complaints from residents on the problem.
“The new equipment will enable us to do more sessions and educate more people about the safety risks that come with speeding.”
Currently the group uses a handheld device which shows the speed of motorists up to 150ft away, however the data has to be recorded manually, usually by a person with a clipboard.
The new equipment will automatically record speed, time, date and location and only requires the memory card to be refreshed once every hour.
Cllr Emment believes this will allow a session to be operated by two people rather than the three required at the moment.
Data recorded by Speedwatch is shared with Thames Valley Police and can be used for various intelligence applications including informing preplanned speed enforcement.
If caught speeding by Speedwatch, motorists will receive a letter in the post and multiple incidents could result in contact from the police.
In Shinfield there is one permanent
speed camera, on Hyde End Road, and four Speed Indication Displays (SID) which can be moved across 12 locations.
An SID, known as a smiley SID, shows the speed of approaching motorists and is usually accompanied by an LED smile if under the speed limit or an unhappy if over the limit.
Cllr Emment said: “The smiley SID is a great tool because they can be moved across locations, but more importantly they record the speeds of passing traffic so you can see if there is a trend.
“One of these recorded a ridiculous speed of 102mph on the Basingstoke Road.”
Cllr Emment is keen to stress the motivation behind Speedwatch isn’t to catch people out but is about improving awareness and safety.
“Not every motorist is speeding, we have some two-hour sessions with nobody speeding at all and then others where someone speeds every four minutes,” he said.
“Community Speedwatch is not about penalising people but about increasing awareness, improving safety and providing education.”
To learn more about the Community Speedwatch programme, or to volunteer, visit: communityspeedwatch.org