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March 28th 2024

Whopping 15% Break Speed Limit !

Here in Broad Lane North residents can testify to the excessive speeds some drivers attain when travelling on the highway outside of their homes.
For a number of years now local residents have been concerned about the fast speeds some drivers reach in Broad Lane North. All the while there is almost a morbid expectation that the collisions and accidents that do take place in the Lane from time to time, will one day feature a headline relating to a fatality.

Wednesfield North Labour Party has been campaigning now for some time for a speed camera to be erected to slow down some of those that currently practice high speeds in the Lane. The latest response from officers in the Conservative/Liberal Democrat controlled Council is set out here "Following detailed investigations, Broad Lane North does not currently meet the criteria for safety cameras. This criteria is in the main based on the number of people killed and seriously injured per km over a period of 3 years. Broad Lane North will be considered for inclusion in next years programme along with all other roads in Wolverhampton."

So there we have it. There will be no speed cameras because we do not reach the criteria for one. The residents fear that high speeds will result in a fatality in time, and their requests are really aimed at taking action before such a tragedy happens!

However the officers of the Council go on to state, that the recent surveys that they have undertaken in Broad Lane North, record that measured speed of all vehicles in both directions for 24 hours a day for 1 week. Indicate that the law is being broken by some 15% of vehicles which were logged exceeding the speed limit. As this figure is relatively high for a road with a 30mph speed limit. The City Council Road safety team has passed the information onto their contact in the Police to see whether the Police can carry out some enforcement.

The most recent incident that was reported which took place on the 26th October when I witnessed a speeding car crashing across the Lichfield Road and finished through the perimeter fence that protects Coppice High School. In that incident four young people fell out of that car, two men and two women. The females were hurt and whilst my friends and family did everything we could to ensure that they were alright, they fled the scene leaving the car embedded in the fence.

The speed that this driver travelled up Broad Lane North was to be seen! It was at least 70 mph when he slammed his brakes on and skidded across the Lichfield Road ramming into the kerb and then piling through the fence.

City officials inform me that the Police had told them that the vehicle was stolen. Road Safety officers have written telling me that in their opinion that "a safety camera would not have influenced that particular drivers speed."

So there we have it. In a nut shell Broad Lane North has not seen enough fatal accidents to warrant a speed camera, if a car is stolen then a speed camera would be of no use. That there are some 15% of vehicles travelling above the speed limit a day in Broad Lane North and the police are being requested to take a look to see if they can do something to enforce the law!

Today the Government has announced that "Drivers caught breaking the speed limit by a significant margin twice could be automatically banned from the roads" under new government proposal. The idea for this change in the law is, set out in a consultation paper, it is one of a range of measures aimed at the most dangerous drivers. The Government are also suggesting creating formal drug-drive limits in a bid to make prosecutions easier to achieve.

Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick told the BBC's Today programme the measures were about "being on the side of the safe motorist". The government wanted to address the 2,946 deaths and the 30,000 serious injuries on British roads last year," he said. As the law currently stands, the majority of speeding offences are punished with a fixed penalty notice of a fine and three points.

But the government wants to introduce more severe punishments for so-called "excessive speeders" - for example, those who drive at more than 90mph on a motorway.

If adopted, the proposal - first mooted four years ago - would see these "anti-social drivers" automatically given six points. Being caught twice at such speeds would mean 12 points and an automatic disqualification from driving. Also under consideration is the idea that the penalty for a minor speeding offence could be cut to two points. The number of people killed on British roads last year fell to the lowest level since records began, transport department figures show. Just over 2,940 people died in 2007, a drop of 7% from 2006, with child deaths dropping 28% to a record low of 121.

Author: Phil Bateman

Article Date: 20th November 2008