With the whole of Europe being subject to spending checks in August, it was the turn of Frome, a notorious area for speeding, to have their motorists checked by the speed enforcement unit and Community Speed Watch teams (CSW).
The CSW say, “The week-long checks did in fact, in some areas, show small measures of improvements, but it was thought that the heavy presence of police slowed motorists down, rather than a desire to adhere to the speed limits. The police, to be fair to them, had advertised this week on social media and along with other postings on Facebook, which should have made significant improvements easy to obtain. Sadly this was not the case.
“Top areas for excess speed were Styles Hill Frome, Berkley School, and nearby Beckington village where dozens of vehicles were recorded. The total figures are still being analysed, but early indications are that prosecutions will run well into the hundreds.
“Many of these will not only face fines and points on their licences but in some cases, the speeds were so high that court appearances will follow. Speeds of up to 56 mph in a 30 zone were also recorded – speeds that Ashley Reay from the Mendip CSW team called almost unbelievable.
“Bath Road Frome was also subject to ‘double checks’ by not only the police but CSW at the same time along different stretches of that road. The results were not encouraging.”
Ashley Reay said, “The Frome motorist still has much work to do both in terms of attitude and a positive attitude to reducing their speed on local roads. Come the winter, the new advanced night-time equipment, now approved for use, will be available along with other equipment that the police will have at their disposal. Current information has indicated that Frome will be one of the first areas to have their motorists checked at nighttime.
“With some £1.5million in fines already estimated to have been paid by motorists in the Frome area in the past five years, surely it is time for motorists to get the message and slow down.”
