DESPITE the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2020 speeding in and around Frome showed very little, if any, reduction.
Mendip Community Speed Watch and police volunteer Ashley Reay said, “Record numbers are still being recorded at Warminster Road, Berkley School and the villages of Farleigh Hungerford and Norton St Philip. With numbers of police prosecutions quickly approaching the 2,000 mark at the Warminster Road site, you would have thought that the public would think about slowing down. If the public think they can drive as fast as they like, then they are sadly mistaken.
“Further bad news for those who continue to speed is that the Police speed enforcement unit is now fully up to strength, has new vehicles and is in the process of completing training with new handheld equipment, that means they will no longer need a van space to park and check on speeds and they can simply stand by the roadside. The proposed start for this new equipment is early 2021.
“CSW in Mendip is now at an all-time high with around one new site per month being set up and schemes at Locks Hill , The Clink, Wanstrow, Buckland Dinham, and Frome town centre(20 mph zone) either now working, or will be when the latest lockdown is lifted. Mendip now have more working CSW sites than any other area in Avon& Somerset.
“The rumour is that while we are in another lockdown then the motorist might be free to continue speeding but the news is that Police speed enforcement, the road policing unit and the local police here in Frome will be stepping up speed checks, not doing less so, please don’t risk a ticket, a fine, points on your license or worse still an accident or death due to excess speed.
“We are all asked to do ‘our bit’ with the Covid-19 pandemic so surely it is not too much to ask to say to the motoring public ‘slow down’. It is free, requires no vaccine and might ensure that you get home safely.”
