News Item - News - Surrey Police

Great results for school Speedwatch in Tandridge

Submitted: 30/07/2010 10:11:14

School Speedwatch

Tandridge held their first school Speedwatch days with the help of three local schools this month.

Speeding is always a top priority for concerned residents and the community Speedwatch, part of the Drive SMART campaign, enables all members of the community, young and old, to get involved and really make a difference to safety on their roads.

Local officers listened to the concerns raised by residents at panel meetings and while out on patrol and managed to encourage residents and schools to get involved with the community Speedwatch initiative.

Pupils from St Stephen’s Primary School went out along the A22 at South Godstone to monitor the speed of passing motorists and encourage them to slow down. They carried out two checks over two mornings and recorded a total of 22 vehicles stopped and the drivers spoken to by the children.

Hamsey Green Junior School spent four hours checking the speed of motorists in Tithepitshaw Lane, Warlingham. They stopped a staggering 47 vehicles with four drivers being issued with fixed penalty notices for speeding.

Children from Dormansland Primary School stopped a total of 35 drivers, over a two day period, two drivers were issued with fixed penalty notices for speeding.

Casualty Reduction officer PC Moira Cocks said:”School Speedwatch is very popular with our youngsters, there is nothing more humbling for a motorist than to be pulled over by a child and asked why they are speeding near their schools and it really helps to get the message through to drivers to slow down. The scheme is all about educating drivers around the dangers of speeding.”

The schemes were established under the Drive SMART campaign which was launched in September 2009 where £1million was set aside for the campaign after the issue was regularly identified as a concern by residents to local councillors. The campaign is targeted at a range of driving behaviours that negatively affect the lives of other road users or local residents. These include tailgating, bad or inconsiderate parking, using a handheld mobile phone at the wheel, speeding, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt and generally thoughtless or reckless driving.

For any further information on the Community Speedwatch programme or if you would like to register to become a volunteer, please contact PC Moira Cocks at Surrey Police on 0845 125 2222.

Ends DB/221/10