Good cop, bad cop...
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Well, not cop, but police authority.
Two very different approaches to road safety from Norfolk and Suffolk police authorities; Suffolk want a 50mph limit on the A140, Norfolk are worried it'll create more accidents.
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Two very different approaches to road safety from Norfolk and Suffolk police authorities; Suffolk want a 50mph limit on the A140, Norfolk are worried it'll create more accidents.
edp said:
Plans for a 50mph limit on a stretch of the A140 Norwich-Ipswich road are "foolhardy and ludicrous", according to a road safety expert.
Michael Rees, a former Norfolk police traffic officer who now runs risk assessment and driver training company Drive Alive UK, in Diss, was speaking out after last week's decision by Suffolk County Council to impose the restriction on its section of the road.
During his eight years with the force, mainly as a motorcyclist, Mr Rees dealt with many accidents on the A140 both in Norfolk and north Suffolk, and said the subject was very dear to his heart.
The road has been the scene of dozens of fatal and injury accidents and additional measures to slow traffic include a new 40mph limit at Brome, near Eye, and 30mph limits at Brockford Street and from Earl Stonham to Stonham Parva, with 40mph buffer zones on either side.
Suffolk councillors believe that lowering the speed of vehicles will reduce the number of accidents and improve the quality of life for people living along the road.
The restriction will be introduced this spring for an experimental 12-month period, with a view to making it permanent.
Mr Rees' concerns follow those raised by Adrian Gunson, Cabinet member for transport and planning at Norfolk County Council, which has no plans to introduce a blanket 50mph maximum on its stretch of the A140.
"Not only do we know what we are talking about, but we have been watching driver behaviour for 25 years," said Mr Rees.
"It's a road that has been neglected in many respects.
"Unfortunately it passes through two counties who have completely opposite opinions on how to deal with the problem."
Mr Rees said people would try and make up time on faster sections of road, such as the dualled sections around Diss.
"The lower speed limit will cause tail-gating, which will increase the number of rear end collisions, not decrease them.
"Drivers' concentration will drop, along with their observations and spacing, leading to a reduction in reaction time and then bang!"
He added: "It beggars belief that they have gone through with it. As far as I am concerned it's a foolhardy thing to do? it will just push the problem somewhere else.
"It will be interesting to see if there is an increase in the number of accidents on the A140 in Norfolk as a result of this limit."
But Peter Monk, Suffolk County Council portfolio holder for public protection, has said he is convinced that the speed limit will reduce the accident toll.
"We all know that speed kills and the responsibility is on the driver," he said.
"It is the communities along there we have to look after. I think we are being very responsible."
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"Portfolio holder for public protection"? Is this another of New Labour's non-jobs?
Speed kills.... ok, we're familiar with that one.
Responsibility rests with the driver.... what, for everything? So public protection means protection from yourself. OK, we recognise that as well then. Imagine how low council tax could be if they focused on core services instead of nannying.
Speed kills.... ok, we're familiar with that one.
Responsibility rests with the driver.... what, for everything? So public protection means protection from yourself. OK, we recognise that as well then. Imagine how low council tax could be if they focused on core services instead of nannying.
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