Volunteers Will Be Armed With Speed Guns To Catch Speeding Drivers
A new, nation-wide scheme could see volunteers armed with speed guns in order to further clamp down on speeding drivers…
Armed With Speed Guns
A new scheme could see police forces arm volunteers with speed guns, in order to clamp down on speeding drivers. Whilst “community speedwatch” volunteers already assist police in monitoring the road network, they aren’t currently using the technology. In addition, they don’t share intelligence with police forces in other parts of the country.
Alison Hernandez, head of road safety at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), is now calling on the government to change how intelligence sharing works. She’s argued that effectively nationalising the scheme could make it easier to catch repeat offenders. She said, “there would be benefit in joining up community speedwatch schemes under a national platform, with proper governance and standards in place to allow data to be accessed and shared more readily rather than lost”. Her comments follow an APCC study that discovered 78% of 66,266 people said they regularly observe traffic and speeding offences.
But Not Everyone’s Smitten With The Idea
Whilst the idea of data-sharing between police forces has won the attention of the government, there’s some scepticism about the use of volunteers. For instance, Edmund King, the President of the AA, has expressed doubts. He said, “there are better solutions than volunteers in yellow jackets”. In particular, he mentioned more police patrols and better digital warning systems. After all, policing is a job intended for the nation’s police forces. Perhaps more importantly though, the use of volunteers can have unforeseen consequences. It’s not difficult to imagine sparks flying when volunteers ‘catch’ speeding motorists, and the alterations that may follow. In addition, there’s always the risk of volunteers being over-zealous.
Speeding remains a serious problem in the UK. Significant research has revealed that most motorists regularly exceed speed limits; especially 30mph limits, where accidents are more frequent and often more likely to have casualties. Nevertheless, speeding offence and accident numbers have been stubborn and have failed to drop for nearly a decade. Regardless of what one’s views are on volunteers, armed with speed cameras or not, more far-reaching policies are clearly needed.
Noise Cameras Rolled Out In London To Catch Speeding Supercars – https://autoserveclub.co.uk/blog/noise-cameras-rolled-out-in-london-to-catch-speeding-supercars/
One In Five Drivers Are More Anxious On The Road After Lockdown – https://autoserve.co.uk/motoring-news/one-in-five-drivers-are-more-anxious-on-the-road-after-lockdown/
