THE councils of Okehampton, Okehampton Hamlets and Inwardleigh are teaming up to see if they can reduce the number of speeding motorists in the Okehampton area.

All three parishes have had problems with motorists breaking speed limits in the area and have concerns that if nothing is done to sort the problem then there could be serious accidents.

Jessica Dodden, who lives on North Street in Okehampton, has seen first hand the horrible repercussions that speeding can have.

On September 1 at around 6.30pm, a car drove down North Street going far faster than the 30-mile per hour speed limit.

The car hit her cat, making no attempt to slow down or stop afterwards. Her cat had a seizure and bled profusely before being taken in by Jessica’s neighbour. She took ten minutes to die after being hit by the car.

Jessica said that something needed to be done to prevent speeding in the town, particularly on North Street, or a human fatality is inevitable.

She said: ‘Speeding is an issue in the town in general but it seems to be more of an issue on roads like North Street and at night. The town council needs to be stricter on speeding cars, with more police presence and more speed cameras in areas where they’re actually needed.

‘If the issue isn’t addressed then I absolutely believe a human fatality will occur on North Street. Children walk this way to and from school and people still speed. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Drivers are aware it’s a school route and still speed, which is absolutely disgusting.’

To try to curb the speeding problem both in and around Okehampton, the three councils are looking into purchasing two mobile speed cameras that could be used across all three parishes to deter people from speeding and catch out those who do break the speed limits.

Inwardleigh Parish Council has been trying hard for several years to do something about motorists speeding through Folly Gate on the A386 above the 40-mile per hour limit.

Inwardleigh parish clerk Marilyn Cooper said: ‘Most of us have witnessed excessive speeds at some time. Highways will not agree to lowering the present 40-mile per hour speed limit to 30-miles per hour — even though almost every other village from Bideford to Tavistock on the A386 has a 30-mile per hour limit.

‘We have tried and failed to set up Speed Watch. Although we have had several volunteers willing to train you would not believe the paperwork involved.

‘The situation is supposed to be monitored but so far we have no evidence of this either.’

Borough and town Cllr Tony Leech has been investigating TAP (Town and Parish) funding and whether this could be used to at least partly fund the cameras.

He said: ‘We want to have some form of reaction to speeding motorists in our town and I‘ve wanted something like this for a couple of years now.

‘We have several problem areas like Upcott Hill, Crediton Road, some of the new estates and through Folly Gate. However unless there are lots of injuries, police don’t keep a record of anecdotal evidence of speeding.

‘We certainly have anecdotal evidence of speeding. I am particularly concerned about Upcott Hill and school children walking along the footpath and using the crossing. The police have said it would be very difficult to do a speed check on the hill as it would be difficult to pull anyone over.

‘Traffic speed has also built up on Crediton Road. It seems people get frustrated by the congestion in town and then when they get to a straight bit of clear road like Crediton Road, they put their foot down.

‘Most of our roads have problems with speeding. We have issues all over the town, including North Road. Hopefully if we can get these cameras, we can try and fight the issue.’

Before the councils can go ahead and purchase the cameras, Devon County Council and the police must go through a joint procedure called SCARF — Speed Compliance Action Review Forum. This involves collecting all recorded data on an area where concerns are raised about speeding, including collision history and obtaining covert speed data for the site using a detection device for around a fortnight to record the speed and number of passing vehicles.

Once this is completed the councils intend to take the next steps in securing the cameras.

What are your thoughts on speeding motorists? Have you seen people speeding down your street? Do the council need to do more to fight the issue? Share your thoughts with us via [email protected] or write to The Okehampton Times, The Ockment Centre, North Street, Okehampton, EX20 1AR.