Dursley and Cam Community

Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership has heralded responsible drivers in Dursley

June 11, 2013

Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership has heralded responsible drivers in Dursley after road checks were carried out in the town over the weekend.

The stops were carried out between 11.20pm on Saturday June 8 and 1am on Sunday June 9 on Kingshill Road.

In total 85 cars were stopped and 28 breath tests were carried out, all of which came back negative.

Gary Handley of Gloucestershire Road Safety Partnership said “We are determined that this year’s summer drink drive campaign is as effective as possible. We don’t want to just arrest and caution motorists but to dissuade drivers from drinking at all if they are going to drive.

“The motorists of Dursley have shown responsibility to the public by not drinking and driving. Last year one irresponsible driver lost their licence every ten minutes. One of our key messages this year is that if you intend on driving then avoid drinking any alcohol”.

The checks were carried out as part of Gloucestershire Constabulary’s Operation Focus, where the intention is to tackle anti-social behaviour across the Stroud area, as well as forming part of the Road Safety Partnership’s summer drink-drive campaign. “Another of the main elements of this year’s campaign is driving the following morning. If you are on a night out, remember that in the morning you still may not be legal to drive”.             

Cam Hopton pupils come out to stop irresponsible driving

Cam Hopton Primary School pupils with PC Jane Simner, PCSO Michelle Dodd and PCSO Mark Lifton with their road safety cards ready to hand out to parents parking outside the school

PUPILS were out in force to warn irresponsible drivers about the dangers they posed on the narrow road outside Cam Hopton Primary School. As part of Walk to School Week the school council, made up of pupils from each class, handed out handmade leaflets to those motorists who drove well and parked responsibly and to encourage more to walk to school. And those seen driving with mobile phones or without seatbelts, or who parked dangerously in Hopton Road, were educated about the dangers – with some help from the local neighbourhood policing team.  PC Jane Simner said every primary school in Dursley and the local area had problems with parking at the end of the school day. "Instead of going in hard we have decided to get the children involved and educate people and raise awareness of the problem. The next level would be to take action." Headteacher Justin Godding said:  "We just want motorists to know the potential problems on what is a very narrow road. "We understand they have problems parking but the safety of the children is paramount." Pupil Eve Jarrett, nine, who lives on Cam High Street, said she thought it could be a dangerous road at times. "Children in reception might be playing and they might go on to the road and not be seen because of all the parked cars," she said. Nine-year-old Luke Guest, of Courthouse Gardens, said the road could be a bit wider. He said:  "I’m glad they are doing this because if they see us today they might think we are still looking on other days."

Wheeled Respect Operation in Cam

  26 motorists were stopped for driving offences on Saturday May 11 as police in Cam carried out an operation urging safe and social driving.

The ‘Wheeled Respect’ operation, involved Special Constables, PCs and PCSOs from Dursley Local Policing Teams, supported by the Constabulary’s Roads Policing Unit and other outside agencies, carrying out roadside vehicle checks focused on offences such as speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and driving whilst on the phone.

Ensuring that the town’s roads are kept safe is an issue that residents have expressed they would like the local policing team to prioritise.

The officers are eager to take action on the issues that matter most to the community and therefore an operation was launched back in April 2011 to urge drivers to be more responsible when travelling in the area.

Special Constable Steve Lindsay, Assistant Area Officer for Stroud Local Policing Area said: “The emphasis of the operation is educating motorists about the dangers they put themselves and others in when driving in this way.

“Once someone was seen committing these offences on Saturday they were stopped and spoken to.  Any drivers caught were then given the opportunity to complete a Road Safety Educational Package, instead of receiving a fixed penalty notice.”

The checks were carried out between 9.30am on 3pm on High Street in Cam; Uley Road and the town centre of Dursley; Taits Hill in Stinchcombe and the A38 at the Slimbridge Roundabout.

9 drivers were stopped for not wearing a seatbelt, 7 people attended the optional educational package. 2 failed to attend or were not suitable and were issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice.

16 drivers were stopped for speeding offences – 4 in Berkeley; 11 on Taits Hill and 1 in Stinchcombe. 15 people attended the optional educational package; 1 failed to turn up or was not suitable and so was issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice.

1 person was stopped for using their mobile phone whilst driving and they attended the optional educational package.

Along side Saturday’s operation, police, with ambulance and fire crews attended a community event at Tesco’s Cam store. The aim of the event, attended by over 5,000 people, was to raise the issue of responsible driving, something that the community had highlighted as a concern in the local area.

Special Constable Lindsay said “Today’s event was a fantastic success and we’re overwhelmed by the number of people that attended, especially as the weather was not great. We’d like to thank Tesco in Cam for allowing us to use their car park to stage our event”.

Dursley Road Safety Educational Program in our Mobile Police Station

  On Friday the 19th of April, Dursley Neighbourhood Policing Team conducted speed checks through the village of Uley in conjunction with the Police priority 'Anti-Social use of Motor Vehicles'. PCSO Joshua Griffiths, PCSO Oliver Clark & PCSO Bowman worked with ADO Steve Lindsay & SC Richard Blythe of the Special Constabulary to conduct the Operation in The Street, Uley.

The Operation was to raise awareness of the effects of people Speeding, not wearing a seat belt or using a mobile phone whilst driving. On this occasion after the drivers had been pulled over they were given the opportunity to participate in a Road Safety Educational Program in our Mobile Police Station. In the 3 hours the Operation was active, 5 motorists were caught speeding and an additional 2 were not wearing seat belt.   All motorists opted to take the Educational Program and fill out a Road Safety Questionnaire.  Overall the police checked the speed of 161 passing motor vehicles.

Interested in becoming a Special Constable?

Want to make a difference within your community? 

If you want to help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour within your community then maybe the Special Constabulary is for you?

As a Special, you will be an extra ‘bobby on the beat’ supporting the work of regular officers and Police Community Support Officers. The more specials that turn out on duty, the more high visibility policing we will have in Gloucestershire.

We will give you the full training and the ongoing support to fulfil your role.  You’ll broaden your experience, gain self-confidence, and develop new skills that will benefit you in other areas of life.  

In terms of commitment;

• we’ll ask you to do the equivalent of 4 hours each week (how you fulfil these requirement is completely up to you)
• You must be over 18 years of age,

and you are needed to complete the training programme that will be provided

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Cam & Dursley Community Contacts

Dursley Town Council. http://www.visionwebsites.co.uk/Contents/Text/Index.asp?SiteId=711&SiteExtra=5546741&TopNavId=706&NavSideId=9467

Stinchcombe Parish Council http://www.stinchcombepc.co.uk/

Cam Parish Council http://www.camparishcouncil.co.uk/

Uley Parish Council http://community.stroud.gov.uk/general.asp?pid=40&pgid=1108

Stroud District Council Neighbourhood Wardens-Pete Gleed http://www.stroud.gov.uk/docs/comm_safety/wardens.asp

Uley Primary School http://www.uleyprimary.co.uk/

Dursley Primary School http://www.dursleycofeprimaryschool.org.uk/

Dursley Rednock Secondary School http://www.rednockschool.org.uk/ 

Cam Woodfield Junior School http://www.camwoodfieldjunior.org.uk/

Coaley Primary School http://www.coaley.gloucs.sch.uk/p_Home.ikml