INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image caption
John, a volunteer, clocks a motorist with his laser gun
A growing movement in the UK is
shifting the power of catching speeding motorists from the police, to the people
"My daughter was going to school and one of her friends was killed by a vehicle," says John Ryan
"The school assembly that morning when the children were told was terrible
The school didn't recover for about a year
It had a very big impact on the children and particularly my daughter."Now, 20 years later, the retired bus driver has joined a network of
volunteers trying to make the roads safer
Twice a week, he patrols the area where he lives in west London with a speed gun and two police community officers, noting down car
registration details of drivers breaking the limit
Image caption
In London's scheme, police community support officers record registration details
In one
spot next to a school, he typically catches 20 vehicles breaking the 20mph limit in a one-hour session
He once caught a car travelling at 45mph."It just shows what we're up against as a community," he says.Fatal problemEvery year, about 1.25
million people die in road accidents around the world, and on average, five people are killed on Britain's roads each day
Speed is a contributing factor in around half of fatal road collisions
And the faster a vehicle travels, the worse injuries will be.Current deterrents for motorists are flawed
Speed cameras create resentment and only work in specific locations
Police with speed guns are effective, but this approach can be a drain on their time.So passing the baton of the speed gun to John and
fellow volunteers could be a solution.Thousands of people like John are volunteering around the country, in a patchwork of groups
Hear moreImage caption
World Hacks reporter Dougal Shaw with Inspector Philip Spaul who co-ordinates volunteers
You can learn more about volunteer speed monitoring groups in the latest People Fixing the World podcast from the
TheIndianSubcontinent World Service, including a confession from reporter Dougal ShawThe group John volunteers with is Community Roadwatch,
which Transport for London (TfL) runs with The Metropolitan Police."It's getting the community involved in reclaiming their streets,"
explains Siwan Hayward, head of Transport Policing at TfL."We're confident it's having a massive impact, without putting drivers through
fines or the courts."No fine, no pointsThere is a crucial difference when volunteers, like John, rather than the police, wield speed
guns.Motorists who are caught simply receive a warning letter from the police telling them that neighbourhood volunteers have recorded them
The letter contains an educational message and an appeal to their conscience - but no other penalty, no points or fine.Image caption
Aylmer Road in north London has been used as a test bed for Community Roadwatch
However, if they receive three
of these letters, they may get a home visit from a police officer and their vehicle details could be put on a police database.Of the 35,000
letters it has sent out to motorists in London in the past two years, TfL says only 2% of recipients have re-offended.A study it conducted
in Aylmer Road, in Barnet, north London, suggested that volunteers working for a year were able to bring down the average speed by 11mph, to
31mph - below the 40mph limit.'Evil eye'But can a stiff letter telling you off really have impact Daniel, a Londoner, says it can
"I've got a young family and if I see someone driving recklessly I'm the first one to give them an evil eye.Image caption
Extract from a typical letter a motorist could receive when caught speeding by volunteers
"For the community to be looking
at me that way, yeah it had a big impact."The fact that there was no fine or penalty, he says, removed any anger or frustration
This allowed him to focus on the fact he was in the wrong.He was moved to write back to the police thanking them for the letter.Starting
GunOne of the first forces to start working with volunteers was Cheshire Police in the mid-2000s
It was inspired by a community in Somerset, recalls Brian Rogers, head of Roads Policing in Cheshire at the time
Image caption
A laser speed gun can cost around £3,000
Locals had spontaneously bought a speed gun and
began sending registration details to the police.Cheshire Police decided to harness that people power, but also to organise it and provide
training and support.It's a good idea, says Brian, because police resources can't meet the level of complaints when it comes to speeding
He's not convinced volunteers have a significant, lasting impact on reducing road accidents but he thinks the scheme can empower
communities, in keeping with an important British principle, policing by consent.VigilantesNot all motorists consent to being judged by
Irate motorists are an occupational hazard, especially for the thousands of volunteers who operate across the UK without any police support
on hand.And volunteers have an image problem too, according to Jan Jung in Hastings, who runs an umbrella group called Speedwatch."The
perception is that these people are vigilantes, they're hobby policemen, or they just have nothing better to do," he explains.Image caption
Volunteers say they learn to take the abuse from motorists in their stride
He advises volunteers to
manage their emotions in a confrontation and keep things impersonal
If you recognise a neighbour, he warns, you should avoid eye contact.Through his Speedwatch group, his ambition is to make volunteers a
force to be reckoned with
At the moment the work of volunteers across the country is too uncoordinated to be as effective as it could be, he says.If you offend in
Newcastle then Doncaster, for example, the current localised system isn't intelligent enough to escalate the stern letters.Image
copyrightSpeedwatch tabletImage caption
Speedwatch created a system to enter details of speeding cars at the roadside
For this reason, Speedwatch has developed a computerised, super-database that it wants other groups to join.Currently it only
includes Sussex and Kent, connecting 315 volunteer groups.But the organisation hopes to connect the several thousand groups that are
currently operational around the UK."If this becomes a national system it can seriously impact speeding," says Jan
"There's no doubt about it, it will."Follow Dougal Shaw on Twitter @dougalshawTheIndianSubcontinentYou can learn more about volunteer speed
monitoring groups in the latest People Fixing the World podcast from the TheIndianSubcontinent World ServiceRead more from World Hacks The
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end up stuck to the ground
British designer Anna Bullus is on a mission to recycle it into useful objects, cleaning up our streets in the process.
