FOLLOWING recent accidents due to speeding in Frome, local police have increased their surveillance tools, trying to put an end to the spate of accidents in the area.
Recently, over just two days, there were three accidents in and around Frome, where one resulted in the death of a motorcyclist. Somerset Highways have now installed two new police bays in Bath Road, to enable the speed enforcement unit to operate and early test checks on speeds within this road.
Bath Road was shown to have a high proportion of speeding vehicles and has resulted in a high number of prosecutions due to the new speeding system. Also, new night-time equipment, which enables the speed enforcement team to see in the dark, has been highly effective and is already in use.
Local police also now have access to their own radar equipment that they can use at the roadside and also access to automatic number place recognition to check tax, insurance and MOT details.
The speed enforcement unit will be carrying out another series of saturation checks this month, in and around Frome, with the Bath Road area and Berkley School having particular emphasis put on them.
Ashley Reay, of Mendip Community Speed Watch and police volunteer said, “We are not just here to allow the vehicles the chance to slow down. We want to make sure their vehicle is roadworthy and has respect for other road users and the community.
“With an estimated 1.2 million pounds paid in speeding fines, within the Frome area (admittedly not all from Frome but a large proportion were) paid in the past five years, it is time to stop this speeding madness.“
