Speeding wastes lives
A unique campaign to get motorists to watch their speed in Warwickshire will be officially launched today (Tuesday 1 June).
Conceived by the county council’s road safety unit and delivered in partnership with Warwickshire Police, the ‘speeding wastes lives’ campaign provides free stickers to members of the community to display on wheelie bins.
The stickers ask motorists to ‘slow down’ and the intention is that this will prompt drivers using residential streets to keep their speed in check and drive considerately.
The decision to launch the scheme countywide follows positive responses from small pilot areas who were notified about the campaign earlier this month. Many stickers have already been requested and the team is anticipating that this popularity will spread quickly throughout Warwickshire.
Explaining why the scheme was developed, Chris Fossey, Road Safety Liaison Officer, said: “We receive so many complaints about the speed of traffic that it was clear communities desperately needed help to remind drivers travelling through our towns to respect the speed limit.
“Tackling the problem of speeding is easy, it just means respecting others, their families and their pets whilst on the road by driving at appropriate speed. By displaying these stickers people can pass this on by asking others to take extra care and make a stand against the needless loss of life caused as a result of speeding.”
County Councillor Richard Hobbs, Portfolio Holder for Community Protection commented: “The Police and the county council are committed to making our roads as safe as possible. The wheelie bin sticker scheme complements a range of measures already in place to both promote the dangers of speeding and to improve road safety.
“Sadly many people our hurt on the roads every year and in the majority of cases this is due to inappropriate or excessive speed. This message cannot be repeated enough so we are inviting residents to get involved by raising awareness on their own streets by displaying these speed warning stickers.”
Chief Inspector Lucy Sewell from Warwickshire Police, added: “Excessive or inappropriate speed is a major contributory factor in a high number of crashes. By displaying a sticker residents are reminding drivers and riders that speeding is not acceptable in your community.
“The scheme has already attracted a great deal of interest which shows us that residents are engaged with the project and keen to do their bit to improve safety on local roads.”
Each Warwickshire household may request up to two free stickers directly from the county council’s road safety team by calling 01926 418612 or visiting http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/speedingwasteslives.
The website also contains further information about the campaign and links to other road safety initiatives operating in the county.