Police target dangerous drivers along the A530

Cheshire Police is targeting drivers using the A530, a stretch of road which has been the scene of ten deaths in the past three years. One of the six fatal crashes that occurred along this route between Nantwich and Middlewich resulted in four deaths alone.

The campaign, funded by the Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership, will run until the end of October. The number of Police patrols on the road is being stepped up, especially in the evenings, when most of the fatal and serious collisions took place.

Officers are on the lookout for drivers breaking speed limits, crossing solid white lines, overtaking carelessly, driving after drinking, using mobile phones, or not wearing seat belts.

They are also extending the action along the A530 to the south of Nantwich, as far as the junction with the A525 at Burleydam. There have been three deaths and almost twenty collisions involving serious injuries on that stretch of road in the past eighteen months.

P.C. Nigel Nicholas, from the team which investigates fatal and serious collisions in Cheshire Police Eastern Area said, “One death on the roads is one too many and, sadly, this road has seen many more than one.
“There is nothing basically dangerous about the A530. The fatal collisions were all caused by driver error and in some cases they involved people who had been drinking or taking drugs.

“People need to take personal responsibility for their actions. On this road the speed limits, the white lines and other restrictions are all there for a good reason. Ignoring them is not just breaking the law. It is creating a potential danger for yourself and for other people. We hope this campaign will help to drive that message home.

“The Police patrols are high visibility and we know they’re having a deterrent effect on some drivers who might be tempted to speed. Others are slower to take the point. Officers have already reported a number of people for a variety of offences.”

Enforcement of the road regulations will be backed up by driver education. Several Impact Days are planned when Police will be joined by the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and other agencies. The aim will be to explain to drivers the consequences of driving too fast or ignoring safety regulations.

Tony Hall, the Traffic Management Officer for Cheshire Police Eastern Area said, “Fire fighters see the results of bad driving more often than anyone when they have to extricate people from crashed vehicles. They spend a lot of time spreading the road safety message and will be a big help here.

“We are also using the ‘Smiley Sid’ speed indicators at various places along the road. Anyone who gets a ‘frown’ from the device because they’re breaking the speed limit needs to know that next time it will probably be a Police oFficer with a speed gun, and they will be doing the frowning over the fine and the three points on their licence.”

Nigel Nicholas said they expected the campaign to get results. “We hope that a concentrated effort will persuade some of the irresponsible drivers that they have a duty to take more care. The casualty record on this road must be improved and only a change in driver attitudes will achieve that.”

ENDS

Note for Editors:
The pictures shows P.C. Nigel Nicholas by a speed warning sign on the A530 which carries flowers in tribute to a man who died in one of the collisions.

Press Contact: Alan Ingram, Eastern Area Press Officer on 01244 615330 or 07768 301528