Police and crime commissioner David Lloyd has launched his first big brainwave – a DIY deal for people fed up with speeding motorists who want to do something about it.
The DriveSafe initiative will allow neighbours to get together if they think they’ve got a problem and sign up for a speed camera kit that will help them put culprits in the frame.
If 10 or more signatures are collected on a petition and at least three volunteers are willing to carry out speed checks, they’ll get the backing to prove their point and get motorists to ease off the gas.
A safe location will have to be identified for the checks, which will only apply to roads with a 30mph limit at first.
Volunteers will be trained and issued with a speed check camera, warning signs and high-vis jackets.
Cars spotted breaking the limit will get an advice letter but if the softly softly approach does not work, police teams will take enforcement action.
The scheme is modelled on a successful project in the rural east of the county, which is now being rolled out countywide.
Mr Lloyd is braced for a big take-up. He said: “I suspect there will be a lot of people who will want to do it. I’ve been told by countless residents that they are fed up with seeing reckless motorists driving above the speed limit and in a manner which leaves them feeling unsafe outside their homes.”
It is part of the commissioner’s five year plan launched on Monday, which outlines proposals to ‘build on success’ and work in three development areas – ‘public focus’, which includes a new website to reunite stolen goods with owners and a Commissioner’s Fund to support projects to make Herts safer, ‘offender pays’ where law breakers pay for the costs they create and ‘business sense’, which includes working with charities to dispose of recovered items and exploring ways to make the best use of the police estate.
Voice Of The People – page 13