Police and Crime Commissioner commits to continue improving road safety in Wiltshire

Wiltshire and Swindon’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson, says he will continue to make improvements to road safety following a 25% reduction in road deaths and serious injury over the past year.

This comes after recent reports showing a sevenfold increase in speeding fines over the past three years.

Mr Wilkinson made it clear that whilst fines are an important tool to discourage drivers from speeding, they remain a small part of the overall package to create safer environment on the county’s roads. He said, “Since I became Police and Crime Commissioner in 2022, there was a clear demand from the public to make our roads safer.

“To do that, I’ve introduced a number of measures to not only reduce speeding, but to ensure strong partnership work between all agencies involved with driver education, cycle and pedestrian safety, and supporting awareness campaigns such as “Project Edward” and the “Fatal 5”; Speeding, The Wearing of Seatbelts, Drink and Drugs, Driver Distraction and Careless Driving.

“There will be people who say that actions like this unfairly target motorists, but it’s clear from our surveys, and from the Facebook Live events hosted by our Neighbourhood Policing Teams, speeding and road safety are amongst the key issues our residents are concerned about.

“Over the last year, serious injury and deaths on our roads have reduced by 25%. I’m keen to increase that figure through better educating drivers, and where necessary, penalising them when they break the law.”

The PCC overhauled the Community Speedwatch scheme in 2022, and it now has over 1,200 volunteers working across Wiltshire and Swindon, with increased support from Wiltshire Police to enable greater enforcement.

Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs) have been installed across the county to pinpoint speeding hotspots, and there has also been an increased enforcement capability through the employment of more designated specialist enforcement officers by the funding of three Community Speed Enforcement Officer (CSEO) posts.

More recently, the Police and Crime Commissioner appointed a Road Safety Delivery Manager, to work with the Wiltshire and Swindon Road Safety Partnership and ensure clear communication between agencies working within road safety.

Jenn Holton, Harm Reduction Lead at Wiltshire Police, said: “The increase in fines reflects the additional resource we have been able to introduce over the last few years to target high-harm offenders who are causing significant risk on our roads, and create a safer road network for everyone who uses it.

“We now have dedicated Community Speed Enforcement Officers who target areas where we know there are issues with speeding. These officers have specialist video equipment which then allow us to prosecute speeders, resulting in speed awareness courses, fines, and, for persistent or high-harm offenders, visits to court.

“Where these officers operate is based on the information and intelligence we receive from the public, as well as the many hours of work that our teams of Community Speed Watch volunteers put in across Swindon and Wiltshire.

“Even one speeder is too many. There’s a reason it is one of the fatal five offences – the offences which are most likely to lead to a serious injury or fatal collision. As we have seen all too often, speed kills.

“Not only that but it causes a significant amount of concern and frustration for pedestrians and other road users when people speed recklessly on the road.

“We are determined to clamp down on speeding and make our roads as safe as possible for everyone.”