Road safety measures will address speeding

Road safety measures will address speeding

5 February 2025

CALLS have been issued for additional road safety measures outside St Joseph’s Primary School in Strangford Primary School following the shocking revelation that almost 240 drivers were detected travelling in excess of 70mph just a short distance from its main entrance.

The figures for the 30mph zone on the Downpatrick Road in the village were made public just before Christmas, prompting a local politician to appeal to the authorities to act to enhance road safety outside St Joseph’s Primary.

The figures — which were recorded between September 11 and November 15 — were revealed by the district’s Policing and Community Partnership (PCSP), but the individual speeds of drivers is not being made public.

The organisation is continuing with its insistence to withhold key data on the individual speeds despite initially making them available when the devices were initially installed.

The latest speeding statistics revealed there continues to be a hardcore of irresponsible drivers who are placing themselves and other road users at risk by driving at outrageously high speeds in built-up areas.

But particular concern is mounting at the flagrant disregard drivers are showing for the 30mph limit in Strangford.

While the speed devices can record how fast vehicles are travelling, they cannot capture vehicle registration numbers, which is a concern for some politicians.

The electronic devices have been placed in towns and villages across the district as part of an offensive on drivers who break the law and they continue to record dangerously high speeds in both 30mph and 40mph zones.

Local Alliance councillor Cadogan Enright has called for police checks in Strangford given that the village has become a recognised hot spot for speeders.

He said while the devices cannot record vehicle registration numbers, they can record the time of the incident.

“Police have said in the past they don’t have the manpower to enforce speed limits at all our local speeding hot-spots at all hours,” he continued.

“But this technology tells us the time of day that most speeding occurs and thus it is realistic for the PSNI to crack down on the worst offenders at the key time of day that speeding occurs.”

Cllr Enright said there were an “incredible” 230 recorded speeding incidents over 70mph on the Downpatrick Road, with the worst time for speeding recorded at 10pm.

The most recent speeding data that was made public revealed that 15% of drivers were detected travelling in excess of 40mph with 49 of the drivers recorded travelling at over 70mph detected  around 11pm.

“This is a quiet residential road, as well as being a link to Saul, Raholp, Strangford and Kilclief. Though traffic must respect the safety of local residents who have often complained about speeding to me along this particular stretch of road,” Cllr Enright said.

He explained that he has been campaigning for many years with staff and parents for a 20mph speed limit in front of the school, claiming that the Department of Education refused to replace a retired crossing patrol warden at what he described as “this critical entrance to the village”.

In addition to appealing for more police speed checks in the village, Cllr Enright has asked Alliance MLAs Nick Matheson and Kellie Armstrong to redouble their efforts to push for additional safety measures outside the school.

The PCSP stats published just before Christmas revealed that 114 drivers were clocked travelling in excess of 70mph at the 30mph zone at Main Street in Dundrum, with speeding continuing to be an issue at the Strangford Road in Downpatrick where 41 drivers were detected travelling in excess of 70mph in a 40mph zone.

Almost 30 drivers were detected at 70mph in the 30mph zone in Kilcoo and 17 at Ballynahinch Road in Saintfield.

Eight drivers were recorded travelling in excess of 70mph in the 30mph zone in Clough, with the highest speeds in both villages recorded at 5am and 3am respectively.

Six drivers were detected driving at over 70mph in Ballynahinch, with the highest speed in the market town recorded at 5am.

Six drivers were recorded travelling at 70mph or more at the Downpatrick Road in Ardglass with the highest speed recorded at 3am. Six drivers were also recorded at 70mph or greater in the 40mph zone at Darragh Cross.

In Newcastle, three drivers were detected over 70mph at South Promenade, with no drivers exceeding 70mph in the 30mph zones in Killough, Killyleagh and Leitrim.

No data was available for Castlewellan as the electronic device was not operational.