Dear Resident,

Community Speed Watch is a community driven road safety initiative, coordinated by West Mercia Police but managed and run by volunteers in the community. It has now been running for 8 years in West Mercia and we’re reminding local residents about the scheme and how you can get involved as a volunteer if speeding traffic is causing concern. 

The scheme involves trained volunteers monitoring the speeds of vehicles with approved, hand-held speed measurement devices. Where vehicle speeds are found to be inappropriate, a letter is sent to the registered keeper by the police with the aim of encouraging them to reduce their speed when driving in the future.

A Community Speed Watch scheme is initiated when ‘speeding traffic’ has been identified as a community road safety concern by a parish council. Therefore, it’s important to raise any concerns about speeding traffic to your local parish council in the first instance. 

In areas where community concerns about speeding are raised, speed data will be collected by West Mercia Police to determine the nature of the problem and action will be taken accordingly. 

To find out more, including the criteria that must be met before a CSW scheme can be established, visit: https://www.westmercia.police.uk/news/west-mercia/news/2022/february/could-you-make-a-difference-to-the-safety-of-the-roads-in-your-community/