Community Speed Watch - What's it all about?

There's a lot of confusion about the role of Community Speed Watch and the Chairman of the organisation has sent villages throughout South Somerset the following letter to clarify the aims.

Community Speed Watch is an initiative of Avon and Somerset Police and is designed to address local speeding problems in partnership with teams of volunteers from South Somerset villages. There are now around thirty schemes operating in South Somerset with more due to join. CSW has spread throughout the U.K. and we are receiving enquiries from as far afield as Yorkshire and Nottingham.

CSW exists to educate and remind motorists that speeding through our villages is an antisocial activity and as such, is unacceptable. It does not entrap motorists or raise any revenue nor is it concerned with responsible motorists who occasionally drift a couple of miles an hour over the limit. All participants are unpaid volunteers, police trained and are highly visible in yellow reflective jackets, operating to a strict ‘Code of Practice’.

Speeds are recorded with registration numbers, description of vehicle, time, date and location. This is forwarded to the police and CSW admin at Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue, Taunton. Their responsibility in the partnership is to identify the registered keeper of the vehicle via the Police National Computer (PNC) which is linked to the DVLA database. A reminder to obey speed limits is then sent to the offender.

Repeat offenders, who can now be readily identified, are sent a final notice by the police warning of the likelihood of fixed penalty or court action should they continue to speed. They may also be added to the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system fitted to Road Policing Vehicles.

Uniformed officers regularly attend a CSW checkpoint and will issue penalty notices where appropriate.

If you are not only concerned about the danger to you or your children from speeding traffic but are prepared to do something about it, join your existing CSW or start a new scheme in your village.

For more information email: southsomerset.csw@hotmail.co.uk