Motorists challenged to reduce speeds

Councillor Owen Riddle, Vice-Chair of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Neighbourhood Services Committee, said all motorists have a responsibility to drive within the speed limit.

He spoke out following a Community Speedwatch event in Hutton Avenue, a residential area with a speed limit of 20mph, organised with PCSO Mark Say of Cleveland Police.

A total of 36 vehicles were observed during the event. Fourteen were found to be speeding, with the highest recorded speeds being 30mph and 27mph. The other 22 vehicles were all within the speed limit.

Councillor Riddle, a ward councillor for the area, said: “As a council, we are keen to tackle the issue of speeding vehicles and I would urge all drivers to always drive within speed limits.

“It is important that speed limits are treated as just that – limits, not targets. They represent the top speed for any particular road and should never be exceeded, but in reality a safe speed is often way below the speed limit.”

(left-right): PCSO Mark Say with Cllr Owen Riddle in Hutton Avenue.

Community Speedwatch (CSW) is a national initiative which involves members of communities, in partnership with the police, using detection devices to monitor local vehicle speeds. The volunteers report drivers exceeding the speed limit to the police with the aim of educating them to slow down.

Councillor Riddle added: “Community Speedwatch events are a great way of empowering the community to take positive action where there are concerns about vehicle speeds.”

He said the event in Hutton Avenue had also provided a valuable opportunity to engage with local residents and find out more about their concerns over speeding vehicles in the area.

Communities with concerns about vehicle speeds can contact PCSO Say at mark.say@cleveland.police.uk to discuss the setting up of a Community Speedwatch event.