Why the new 40mph speed limit on the Wessex Way is driving Bournemouth round the bend
As Bournemouth City Council website say themselves, cameras have two distinct functions – one being to demonstrate to all road users that they are near to a collision hotspot and the other is to ensure the speed limit is adhered to. My response to this is…collision hotspot? Adhered to speed limit? This is all fine when considering the dangers of motorways and residential roads BUT the peaceful, non-residential dual carriageway that is the Wessex Way? I don’t think so. The proposal to reduce the Wessex Way speed limit is intended to mitigate clusters of accidents occurring throughout this length of principal road, according to the Bournemouth Borough Council’s experimental Order. However, in the council’s own 5 year study there was only one fatal accident located at the western two way section – it involved an eighty-six year old driver who strayed into the offside lane and hit an oncoming car. Studies show that many accidents occur at the roundabouts and at the western end of the road towards county gates roundabout. In these cases inappropriate speed were not listed as a causation factor. So, why the new speed limit?
To put it bluntly, there is no reason for it. Unless you include another money spinning government scheme. And that is most definitely not benefiting the residents and visitors of Bournemouth. More drivers will get caught speeding at 40mph now that they’re used to it being 50! More speeders equals more fines and more fines equals more revenue for our politicians. To put a 40mph limit all the way down to Asda is completely disproportionate. So much so that drivers are finding alternative routes across town. This means that the council are forcing more traffic onto the residential areas where families shop and children play; surely this is far more hazardous than on the road that was built to prevent this?
Resident and student of Bournemouth University, Lucy Smith, 20, is against the new enforced speed limit.
“It’s bad drivers that cause accidents, not the speed at which they’re going at. Studies have shown that the safest drivers tend to drive at speeds appropriate to the road conditions and not the arbitrary speeds set by the authorities. I’ve had points on my license but I know I’m a good driver”.
A speed of 50mph is certainly appropriate to the road conditions, whereby the Wessex Way is a non-residential dual carriageway. Why should the people that have been living in this town all of their lives, change their conventions to suit the needs of the government? Aren’t the government supposed to meet our needs as the public?
Imagine my surprise when I am quite happily driving along my usual daily route to realise that I have to slam on the breaks because the council has actually gone through with this preposterous road scheme! This distraction of spotting cameras and diversion of attention is far more dangerous in my opinion. People argue, (that is the people who are most likely bad drivers); that with today’s general manners and driving standards on the roads, the reduced speed limit can only be a good thing. Are these people going to have the same view when the council reduces it to 30mph in five years time? There are plenty of fatalities on motorways so do we reduce those limits as well? This is not just about the Wessex Way; this is about general changes to our town that are unnecessary and not in the interest of our community. Yes, it can indeed be argued that a reduced speed limit is in the interest of safety but surely not when there wasn’t a problem to begin with? More important issues should be dealt with such as the potholes from the recent freeze. Or perhaps finding an economic way of reducing the amount of cars, not the speed. Use our extremely high council tax for projects like this!
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not the usual angry, protesting type. Honestly. However, I am curious as to why the 1.4 million tickets issued a year and 120 million pounds raised have not reduced accidents. I’m not trying to encourage speeding; it is a matter of trying to maintain the sanity within Bournemouth town at least. A Facebook group has also been dedicated to this anti-speed limit campaign, known as the ‘Stop the Wessex Way 40mph Madness’. This group boasts over 9,000 members all in favour of getting rid of the reduced speed limit. Members use the site to unite in discussing how to reinstate the speed limit on Wessex Way and organise regular protests. According to the Facebook group, the public have the right to a public enquiry should our objections not be heard properly. Furthermore, the group suggests signing the petition against the ‘lunacy that is the 40mph speed limit on the Wessex Way’. If you sign the petition you are agreeing with the petitionary statement;
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to reinstate the speed limit on Wessex Way, Bournemouth back to 50mph or use any powers at his or the government’s disposal to cause Bournemouth Council to reinstate the 50mph limit.
I’ve signed it. I welcome you in signing it too. A regular user of the Wessex Way carriageway and Facebook group member, Jonathan Peers, joins me in this campaign.
“What I’ve noticed since the speed reduction is how close cars are driving together. When coming off the slip road at Richmond Hill towards Bournemouth there is no longer space to pull out and now I have to stop and wait with at least four cars in front of me. It’s getting out of hand”.
An independent analysis to the 38 areas that were operating within the National Safety Camera programme over the four year period, from April 2000 – March 2004, showed that vehicle speeds were down & both casualties and deaths were down. There were positive cost benefits & the public supported the use of safety cameras for the targeted enforcement. This information I do not doubt. It is of course important to continue with the use of safety cameras in order to reduce collisions, casualties and deaths (The National Safety Camera Programme Four Year Evaluation Report, December 2005), however my concerns are with the consequences to areas affected by a reduced speed limit, which could in fact provoke such incidences.
The Council will be considering in due course whether the provisions of the Order should be continued in force indefinitely. The council are in fact welcoming people to write in with their objections before deciding to make this move permanent. So, that’s exactly what I’m doing. As a Bournemouth citizen I have this right and so and I ask others to join me in this protest. Guidance of writing letters of objection can be found at http://www.abd.org.uk/speed_limit_objections.htm.
Any such objection must be in writing, must give the grounds on which it is made and must be addressed to the undersigned.
M.Holmes, Director, Planning & Transport Services,
Town Hall Annexe, St. Stephen’s Road, Bournemouth BH2 6EA.
Please help drive Bournemouth to victory in this campaign and watch this space…
Laura Davies 