Sussex PCC visits Community Speed Watch group

This week, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne visited the Hastings Community Speed Watch (CSW) group who were out checking the speed of road users on Crowhurst Road, St Leonards-On-Sea.

As one of nearly 300 CSW groups in Sussex, the volunteers use the Operation Crackdown online platform in order to report road users exceeding the speed limit to the police. 

The CSW aim is to educate road users to slow down which is why the team were joined by a Casualty Reduction Officer, whose role is to engage and educate road users to reduce collisions that result in people being killed or seriously injured on our roads. The officer spoke with road users about their standards of driving and the condition of their vehicles. 

For the more serious offenders, the CSW team were also joined by officers from the Sussex Roads Policing Unit who issued multiple tickets to road users who were speeding. Some drivers were reaching speeds of 50mph despite the 30mph limit and one driver failed to wear a seatbelt.

In just 2 hours, the CSW team recorded over 200 vehicles travelling in excess of the speed limit. The details of those committing a speeding offence were noted and passed to Sussex Police who can use this evidence to take action against them.

After the visit, PCC Katy Bourne said: “I was dismayed to have witnessed so many vehicles speeding – it equated to more than one for every minute I was there with the volunteers and police officers.  

“I am extremely appreciative of the Community Speed Watch groups that operate across our county and of the police officers working hard to keep our roads safe. As road users, we all need to remember that the speed signs we see are a limit, not a target.

“Please plan your journey before you set off and leave plenty of time to get to your destination. Speeding puts everyone at risk, not just those who are driving and it can have devastating consequences.”