Concern over speeding vehicles

There is a 20 mile per hour limit that is clearly marked. At each end of the town. Yet every day most drivers ignore this and are very clearly going above 20mph, with some actually racing through with speeds in excess of 30mph.

The council did put up some of the speed indicator signs for a few weeks at each end and this did have some effect on the speeds that drivers were doing. However, since they have been down, it just returned to the normal.

The reply I had for the council that over the time they were up only 15 per cent of drivers were speeding and that they would be taking no further action to stem the speeding. Now if we say on average 100 cars an hour pass through the town, so that’s 2,400 cars in a 24 hour period, then times that by the 14 days that they were up, 33,600 cars in total, of which they say 15 per cent were speeding – that’s 5,040 speeders.

It only takes one to hit someone crossing the road because they cannot stop in time.

This does not apply to just cars but lorries and buses.

Some of the worst offenders are the very large agricultural tractors with their trailers.

These can weigh in at over 20 tonnes, even up to 40 tonnes if the trailers are loaded with farm equipment.

If ever one of these had to do an emergency stop, they would have no chance. The size of the tyres would make them bounce and very possibly lose control.

The devastation that such a large vehicle could do at such speeds is frightening.

I sometimes sit in the evening in the bay window of the Barley on the corner of Stafford Street and the High Street. I watch the traffic and I say it will not be long before there is a very serious accident, the way some cars approach the island from any direction is mind blowing. They make no attempt to slow down.

I have seen some doing what must be in excess of 40mph just drive straight across. This gives no one a chance if they got it wrong.

Mr M I Flowers, Newport

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