Safe Speed Forums

I think that it easy to underestimate the impact that unsafe, inappropriate speeds can have on small communities like the one that I live in. It is also very easy to suggest solutions that involve the general public reaching into their pockets.

I'm sorry, but I would welcome any form of speed control in my village, which is in rural Durham - even a speed camera (shock, horror).

It happens to be on a rat run as it links a few villages and the A1M to the A66 and Teesside via rural country roads. Unfortunately one of these roads runs right through the centre of my village Idiots in expensive cars and pretend jeeps hurtle through our village in anticipation of reaching or getting home from work that little bit earlier. The council has installed what I can only describe as red strips which make a loud noise when you speed over them at all entrances and exits to our village, obviously at low costs given . Useless.

Speeds of 60 or 70 through a village centre? Overtaking villagers maintaining a safe speed on a blind bend? No problem in your nice fast BMW!

Any suggestions from the intelligent drivers inhabiting this forum (I'm sure you are all responsible drivers and wouldn't dream of driving fast through an apparently sleepy hamlet like mine) as to how we can prevent the inevitable child/car clash without asking the residents of the wider Durham area to fund such changes (and those required in all the other villages along the route) through an increase in council tax?

I would phone the local police force, you might find they'll be happy to send a car to set up a temporary speed trap.

Be very careful though, I've heard of other villages doing this only to find that almost all speeding cars were villagers even though they all thought it was outsiders.

The most effective thing for your village would be some police presence! Given that is probably unlikely, consider the following:

Speed camera - will (amongst other things) result in drivers taking their eyes off the road/doing sudden braking in exactly the places you want them to be paying attention.

Speed bumps etc - will cause additional noise polution, quite possibly structural damage to houses nearby, and again cause distraction.

Given that the best solution - which is to stop your village being a rat run by actually blocking the road (so you can't conveniently drive through the village) is likely not to suit residents forced to make detours, the best solution is probably a VAS (vehicle activated sign) which will falsh if people approach it too fast, but will not result in prosecution. Research across europe has proved these signs work well.

The starting point is to manage driver quality. 10 years of 'speed kills' policy have substantially increased the proportion of road users choosing inappropriate speeds. More speed limits and more speed enforcement can only accelerate the decline.

Next we need to understand the local issues. What are the speeds? What does the road look like to drivers? What is the crash history? This last is actually critical. So many people think that places are 'an accident waiting to happen' but examination of the facts PROVES the opinion to be erroneous. Places that are 'an accident waiting to happen' have crashes.

Then there are treatments:

- 'Monderman' style shared space
- Vehicle activated signs
- Police enforcement
- Speed sensitive traffic lights (go red when someone approaches too fast) are a good idea yet to be tried in the UK.
- Appropriate speed limits
- maybe many more depending on site specifics

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Thanks for the suggestion - in a logical world this would work, but we've tried that and the police are generally 'too busy'.

Incidentally, they have recently bought two new unmarked cars that patrol the trouble-hit A66 trapping drivers for speeding. Good way of making cash.

All solutions appear to cross the line in that they will ask people outside of the village to reach into their pockets. Hardly a popular solution. I prefer the blocking the road solution - one idea I had was for villagers to actively double park their cars, forcing people to slow down for single lane traffic. I'd welcome a traffic jam and pollution any day to the alternative - either way you lose your village centre.

In the past year, by the way, there have been several accidents in and around the village.

Did any of them involve otherwise responsible drivers exceeding the speed limit? If they didn't then speed limits or enforcement can't cure them.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Not knowing much about that particular situation: how about installing some pedestrian traffic lights with sensors that switch the traffic control lights to red when a speeding vehicle is approaching – two birds one stone?

I've seen blocking the road PROPERLY work (Double parking is likely to get you fined!). A road just around the corner from my house was a popular rat-run and that was actually blocked completely half way along its length with bollards across the full width of the road (but ones that could be dropped in emergencies). Its means that the residents are now "divided" from each other and have to take different routes depending on which side of the barrier they are on. BUT there is no traffic problem anymore.

You mean a road which takes people from where they are to where they want to be.

Sorry, pet hate of mine, calling a through road a rat run.

This is interesting as most people who complain about "speeding through the village" aren't really complaining about the speed but instead the presence of the traffic at all. I assume from what you say that the road is NSL and not subject to a lower limit.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

The reason for me being generally anti-speed camera is their locations generally being inappropriate.

I'd happily have a speed camera in my village centre, as the road is narrow and dangerous, particularly in the daytime. However, it would be more likely that a camera would be installed on the bit of road outside the village centre which is still 30mph but safe for 40mph.

I'd also happily have cameras outside schools too, although at the times when they are to offer most protection to school pupils the roads can only be negotiated at 15mph tops, so this defeats the point.

Not sure how someone who breaks the law of the land is defined as 'otherwise responsible' outside the realms of political debate. Is that like saying that a mugger is an otherwise responsible citizen who happens to believe that all property is theft, etc... Also - as this is speculation, I am not sure how we would be able to respond to it. Incidentally, is it adequate to call someone 'otherwise responsible' who drives without respect for other road users (ie, pedestrians and cyclists) with whom they share the road - in this case, by driving dangerously fast through the heart of my community?

No - I mean a road which is used by people who show no concern for other users - 'rats'.

Which village is it? I'm in Co. Durham from tonight through Saturday, will have time to pop along and have a look.

The point is that grossly irresponsible drivers (for example drunks, those motor racing on the highway or those in stolen cars) will NOT respond to the usual measures. - It's no use at all to put in a speed limit after a joyrider in a stolen car has crashed at 100mph.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Not one to stand in the way of progress - in actual fact, through-put in a rural village like ours can reinvigorate it's economy. Many of the commuters driving through the village stop at the local post office, newsagents and pubs, which is probably why they are still in business in this age of supermarkets and the internet.

I suppose the issue is more about respect - driving very fast around a blind bend which leads to the centre of a village half a mile from the first of many warnings about people and children crossing and ignoring a noise making traffic calming measure indicates a lack of understanding and respect.

How to make people do this?

Please could you tell us about the posted speed limits in the area of your village.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

To tell the thruth - there doesn't seem to much point putting in a speed limit at all.

Sadberge - see

Link to Streetmap

The speed limit in the village is 30mph from about a mile south and half a mile north of the village on the main through road. There is also a new bipass which leads to/from the A66 south of the village and the road south leads to Darlington or Yarm and is used to avoid the A66 by many. The road East is a back road route to Stockton.