Ludlow parliamentary candidate, Heather Kidd, joined local campaigner Richard Stilwell in Bridgnorth recently to observe the problems of speeding on some of our local roads during the school rush hour.
Richard had previously carried out extensive surveys in the Victoria Road and Conduit Lane areas which showed that there was a severe problem with the speed of some vehicles whilst children were trying to get to school. Recently Victoria Road has had a new but very rough, (and extremely noisy) surface laid that has caused problems with stone chips on cars and instability to anyone on two wheels, and Richard and Heather wanted to find out if this new surface had made an effect to the speed of vehicles.
The results made very disturbing reading indeed with a significant increase in speeds since the 2006 survey. The latest survey was only taken during the morning (when speeds are highest) and measured in both directions together. With the road surface being resurfaced with a very rough noisy dressing it was expected this to cause speeds to be reduced slightly.
Heather was horrified to find that speeds continued to increase. 6% of drivers drove at a speed that we are told is 90% likely to kill a child and almost 1 in 5 drivers drove at over 20% above the speed limit. There was no particular correlation between a particular type of vehicle or driver.
Heather said “I am so shocked at the results that we will are going to carry out a more detailed study in the very near future. We cannot allow this to carry on until a child is killed or seriously injured.”