Newslink March

Area News
20mph... 30mph... it doesn’t matter
what the limit is, drivers ignore it
Arthur Mynott
MSA GB Western
Hello again from the West Country.
I have lived in the small village of
Crowcombe in Somerset for over eight
years and have noticed how the speed of
traffic passing through here has
increased in that time.
As you turn off the main A358 at one
end of our village you immediately pass a
30mph sign, and the first house is about
40 yards past this. The 30mph continues
through until the other end, a distance of
about half a mile, except for the area
around the junior school and church
where, for a distance of about 400
yards, the limit is 20mph. There is a
series of bends in this 20mph bit, and no
footpath.
I have two dogs and I take them out
every morning before breakfast for a walk
of around two-and-a-half miles, which
includes going around a couple of fields
and walking the entire length of the
village. This activity is really important to
me considering the sedentary nature of
our profession and is much more
interesting than using a treadmill at the
gym!
It is often dark when I’m doing this,
especially at this time of the year, so I
always wear a high visibility vest and
carry a torch so I cannot be missed. The
most dangerous part of going through the
village is the bit by the school and the
church as there are high walls, sharp
bends and no footpath. Through this
section some of the vehicles well exceed
the 20mph limit. Many times I’ve had
close shaves and asked them to slow
down but it doesn’t seem to change
anything. The route is also a short cut to
the Hinckley Point C Nuclear Reactor
being constructed nearby which has
meant an increase in traffic at certain
times of the day. When I am not working,
I am generally later in talking the dogs
for a walk and sometimes have the same
predicament at the school opening and
closing times.
Recently I expressed my views on our
local community Facebook page and
asked others for their comments. An
interesting discussion took place as to
what could or should be done about it.
My thoughts were that it should be a
20mph limit throughout all of
Crowcombe (many cars are exceeding
the 30mph limit in the rest of the village
also) and perhaps some speed humps
added in the area of the school and
church. Some agreed and some didn’t.
It transpires that to have speed humps
Please curb your
speed though our
village!
installed you have to have streetlights as
well, and this was controversial. There
are currently none in Crowcombe and
some wish to keep it that way, so the
village maintains its dark skies status.
We had a couple of SIDS (Speed
Indiction Devices) placed near the school
and church for a week which showed
that the average speed of vehicles there
was 25mph. The police have said they
will only use enforcement if the average
speed is 26mph or more! But this
showed there was a problem, as to have
an average of 25mph there must be some
vehicles travelling in excess of this speed.
My next step was to contact the local
parish council but as I was unable to
attend the last meeting I sent a letter
expressing my views.
It was discussed and they are going to
look at it again at the next meeting which
I will be attending.
I will let you know the outcome next in
next month’s Newslink.
CONTACT
To comment on this article, or provide
updates from your area, you can
contact Arthur on 07989 852274 or
chair.ow@msagb.com
38 NEWSLINK n MARCH 2023