Skip to main content

West Midlands schoolchildren help to educate speeding motorists

Pupils from Salisbury Primary School in Darlaston, West Midlands, UK, recently took part in a Community Speedwatch initiative with West Midlands Police, using a Speedwatch system supplied by UK company Traffic Technology. Under police supervision, the children were given the opportunity to read the data obtained by the Speedwatch device and relay it to the rest of the group, which transferred the information on vehicle type, colour, registration and speed to a specially-produced form. The children then used
May 25, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Pupils from Salisbury Primary School in Darlaston, West Midlands, UK, recently took part in a Community Speedwatch initiative with West Midlands Police, using a Speedwatch system supplied by UK company 561 Traffic Technology.

Under police supervision, the children were given the opportunity to read the data obtained by the Speedwatch device and relay it to the rest of the group, which transferred the information on vehicle type, colour, registration and speed to a specially-produced form.

The children then used the data in a maths lesson at school to work out means, modes, ratios and more. They will also write a letter to drivers in their English lesson to highlight how they feel about speeding and the effect it could have on them and their family. This will be sent to violating motorists, along with the official police letter.

Richard Collins of West Midlands Police, who conducted the initiative, said the equipment is ideal for community speed watch schemes, easy to use, precise and most importantly not confrontational. He continued, “I feel that is import to get members of the public involved in such schemes, particularly the children as these are the adults of the future. Not only is it a great way of building trust and confidence between police and the community  it can also be used as an aid to education.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Autonomous driving – what can we really expect?
    June 6, 2016
    Dave Marples of Technolution BV looks beyond the hype to the practical implementation of autonomous vehicles. Having looked at the development of this sector for some time, I am concerned about the current state of autonomous driving development as engineering (and marketing) have run way ahead of the wider systemic, and legislative, requirements to support an autonomous future.
  • USDoT’s NETT is welcome – but Toyota unhappy at V2X development
    August 15, 2019
    The US Department of Transportation has announced a new council to champion emerging mobility tech – but one car manufacturer is currently not feeling that such support is everything it might be The announcement of a brand new body to champion autonomous vehicles (AVs) - among other innovations – is a potentially welcome development for mobility and transit providers. Elaine L. Chao, US secretary of transportation, says that the newly-created Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT)
  • Machine vision - cameras for intelligent traffic management
    January 25, 2012
    For some, machine vision is the coming technology. For others, it’s already here. Although it remains a relative newcomer to the ITS sector, its effects look set to be profound and far-reaching. Encapsulating in just a few short words the distinguishing features of complex technologies and their operating concepts can sometimes be difficult. Often, it is the most subtle of nuances which are both the most important and yet also the most easily lost. Happily, in the case of machine vision this isn’t the case:
  • 'Conservatism hampering ITS technical evolution'
    November 13, 2012
    Nick Lanigan, managing director of Clearview Traffic, considers the current outlook in the ITS sector from an SME's perspective. Interview with Jason Barnes. When times are hard, businesses can invest or cut. Either way, they need guidance from customers – governments – on where best to concentrate their efforts. Prolonged economic slowdown is currently an issue. A short recession, however sharp, would have left many industry players able to ride the bow-wave of governments’ multi-year spending on strategic