Twitter account detects local speeders

An account that detects vehicles going over the 20mph speed limit on Manor Farm Road in Milford, Salisbury has been set up on Twitter.

The bot account reportedly uses data from Google Maps to anonymously track those going over the speed limit in the Milford area.

The account was started this month (August 2021), and at the time of reporting, 803 cases of speeding have been documented, tweeting data once every 15 minutes.

Cllr Alan Bayliss, the Salisbury City Councillor for Milford ward, responded to the account labelling it an 'eye opener'.

The account comes as Wiltshire Police release statistics from their recent national speeding campaign.

Wiltshire Police report that between 28th July and 8th August 2021, 159 motorists were stopped as part of the National Police Chief Council’s (NPCC’s) national speeding campaign.

The campaign was led locally by the Wiltshire Police Roads Policing Unit, and aimed to educate and raise awareness of the risks of serious injury and death when travelling in excess of the speed limit.

During the proactive weeks of action officers stopped and dealt with:

86 traffic offence reports were handed out
66 drivers were given words of advice in relation to their speed
Six fixed penalty notices were issued
One person was reported for summons to court.

Insp Mark Freeman of the roads policing unit said: “Sadly excessive speed still continues to be a factor in a number of collisions on our roads each year.

“You can see from the figures and action taken that although enforcement has a role in a campaign like this, the main focus is on education.

“I hope through these weeks we have raised awareness with the wider public but in particular I hope that those we have stopped and spoken to will really consider their actions and take on board our words of advice.

“There is no excuse to speed, it puts yourself and other road users in danger, it is not acceptable and will not be tolerated”.

“I know most of those drivers will tell me that at the time they were stopped they felt they were travelling at a safe speed, but we all know that it only takes a second for that to be a very different story and a very different outcome.

The NPCC proactive campaign has come to an end but together with colleagues from Community Policing, the Special Constabulary and Community Speedwatch, the roads policing team say they will continue to raise awareness of the risks of driving at excessive speed and the devastating consequences that can bring.

If you are suspicious that someone is breaking the law, then please call 101 and give as much information as possible, including the driver's details or description, and their car registration.

Image: Google Street View