I would like to follow up the letter from from E J Soffe dated June 15. At present I am teaching my daughter to drive, part of the new driving test is made up of the Hazard Awareness test.
To help her with this part of the test we often travel through so-called 'traffic calmed' areas. More often I think that they should be re-named Distraction or Frustration areas. The amount of so-called experienced drivers who seem unable to negotiate these areas correctly is quite staggering. The race track style chicanes in places like Crombey Street have the exact opposite effect with some drivers testing their 'skills' to how fast they can actually negotiate them!
In areas like Pinehurst and the Parks where there are hundreds of children out playing these calming measures are such a distraction to drivers that many of them fail to see the children playing very close by. Travelling towards the town centre along Pinehurst Road in the rush hour is quite scary as you watch drivers trying to force their way through in the path of on-coming traffic as they become more and more frustrated waiting for a space in which they can get through.
If these roads are as dangerous as we are led to believe then surely the most effective way to slow drivers down would be the use of, dare I say it, Speed Cameras! Or is it that in reality they are only placed in areas where the police know that they are going to get maximum revenue from them. I am all in favour of the use of cameras in genuine accident black spots or where it can be seen that there is real danger to life from speeding.
Surely the best way to slow drivers down in the long term, is through education that speeding is dangerous.
Neal Heavens
Swindon Road
Wroughton
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