Road Safety Week: Bath MP praises Community SpeedWatch’s “lifesaving” work and calls for greater road safety awareness

24 November 2023

This week, the 20th to 26th of November, marks Road Safety Week and Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, has been working alongside Avon and Somerset Police to keep people safer on the roads.

Brake, the road safety charity, are campaigning this national Road Safety Week for safer roads and better-informed drivers. The charity works with thousands of schools, campaigns and communities to teach road users the importance of safe speeds and pay tribute to those lost to road traffic accidents.

The MP for Bath, Wera Hobhouse, has praised Bath’s Community SpeedWatch (CSW) group, a partnership between the local community and the Avon and Somerset Police, for their excellent work towards reducing speed and dangerous collisions in Bath. In fact, research by the House of Commons Library, commissioned by Wera Hobhouse, suggests that there was a decrease in Bath last year in injuries caused by road traffic collisions compared with the year before.

Mrs Hobhouse recently met with volunteers from the group and heard about the thousands of hours their members across the region dedicate each year to raising awareness of, and trying to prevent, speeding. There are currently ten active CSW groups local to Bath and they have captured and reported almost 8000 vehicles speeding in the first eight months of this year. This is a shocking 12% of all vehicles measured by the group in that period.

The MP for Bath wrote to Chief Constable Sarah Crew for Avon and Somerset Police to praise the work of the CSW group in Bath. In addition, she raised the group’s concerns that there were a worrying number of repeat offenders being reported. While Wera Hobhouse noted the impressive contribution the CSW group makes towards reducing dangerous traffic incidents in Bath, she recognised that there was only so much the group of volunteers could do alone.

On behalf of Bath’s CSW group, Mrs Hobhouse asked the Chief Constable for more visible support from local officers, in line with the scheme’s regulations, in order to strengthen its effectiveness and help stop dangerous drivers from reoffending.

Mrs Hobhouse also discussed the matter of road safety with Mark Shelford, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset Police in their regular catch-up meeting on the 17th of November. Mr Shelford assured Mrs Hobhouse of his support.

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, commented:

“Speeding contributes to almost a third of traffic deaths. The volunteers from Bath’s Community SpeedWatch are carrying out truly lifesaving work. Yet, they need better support, as do many similar organisations across the country.

“Far too many lives are lost each year to traffic incidents. We must continue to educate motorists about the importance of safe speeds and taking care on the roads.”