Double speed traps for Newton Abbot

Mayor mobilises against miscreant motorists

Volunteers armed with speed 'guns' are out to nab miscreant motorists in Newton Abbot - and they're doing it in double doses.

The organisers believe too many drivers are wise to the ways of normal speed traps.

The days of one copper with a device and another in the back of a van may continue. So will the ones with just a single volunteer. The single-trap approach encourages motorists to slow down momentarily and then put their foot down again once they're past the trap.

But after a successful trial, the cunning organisers in Newton Abbot are putting a second team further up the road on certain routes.

Mayor Mike Joyce, is one of those leading the project. He said: "The weakness of the conventional approach is that once drivers pass the speedwatch team they rev up again, thinking they’ve beaten the system

"What they don’t expect is to see another group of volunteers just up the road. Even though they’re likely to slow down again to avoid getting into trouble, they’ve been made to think that perhaps speeding is something they won’t always get away with and that’s the message we want to drive home."

Devon County Council is asking residents what they think about a general 20 mph limit across Newton Abbot.

Not all road safety measures are popular with the public. Last week the chair of Devon and Cornwall's police and crime panel Councillor Roger Croad got himself into a public pickle responding to a call for voluntary parking attendants outside schools. He suggested they should be armed with sawn-off shotguns "because it could be awkward." 

He later apologised for the "unguarded remark" which he "immediately regretted."

In Newton Abbot Cllr Joyce is determined to act, whatever the outcome of the consultation about the speed reduction to 20 mph.

"Everyone who lives in or visits Newton Abbot should feel safe on our roads,"he said. "What we need now is for more people to join our speedwatch team so we can increase the number of routes we’re monitoring.

"Speeding simply isn’t acceptable and we’re giving fair notice that if you choose to ignore the limits then you’re more likely than ever to be caught."

Read: about crime chairman in gun gaffe at: https://bit.ly/3cge7N9