Recognition for county’s Community Speedwatch volunteers

A number of Essex’s longest-serving Community Speedwatch volunteers have been recognised for their efforts to make the county’s roads safer.

Community Speedwatch is a traffic monitoring scheme, coordinated by the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and supported by the Safer Essex Roads Partnership (SERP), but managed and run by volunteers in the community.

More than 95 Community Speedwatch groups are now operating across the Essex Police area, providing regular monitoring of vehicle speeds within their own locations. 

A special event was recently held by Essex Fire and Rescue, to thank a number of volunteers for their dedication and commitment to the scheme. In total, 14 volunteers were invited, all of whom have been involved in the scheme since 2010 or earlier.

At the event, the volunteers were shown a short road traffic collision presentation by Andy Stroulger, RTC and motorcycle reduction manager, while they also got to experience road safety virtual reality headsets.  

Maria Buckley, from the Police Road Crime Team, demonstrated TRUCAM – while David Raven and Liam Collins from Essex Highways were available to discuss ‘Surround a Town Days’ and Community Speedwatch training.

Pippa Brent-Isherwood, chief executive of the police, fire and crime office, and Nicola Foster, SERP chairperson, awarded certificates to the volunteers. 

Mary Whiley, Community Speedwatch co-ordinator at Essex Fire and Rescue, said: “This was a fantastic event to showcase and celebrate the work of our Community Speedwatch volunteers. 

“I would like to thank all the volunteers for their dedication and continued support in making Essex roads safer.”

30 September 2019