Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd is on the hunt for more volunteers in Hertfordshire who can help encourage speeding motorists to slow down.

Throughout January, the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit (RPU) has been running a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of driving above the speed limit.

To support the campaign this week, the Commissioner is highlighting how members of the public concerned about speeding where they live can help address the situation through the Community DriveSafe scheme.

DriveSafe empowers residents who want to take action against speeding on their road or through their village. The fully-trained volunteers stand at the roadside monitoring the speed of passing vehicles and using speed display equipment that informs the driver of the speed they are doing. Motorists that exceed the limit of the road are sent an advisory letter and can even be visited by a police officer if they offend regularly.

Last year DriveSafe volunteers’ roadside checks resulted in 5,437 letters being sent to drivers who had been caught speeding. There are currently schemes running at 32 locations around the county involving 283 volunteers. A further 13 schemes are in the process of being set up which will boost the volunteer numbers by 170.

The scheme is overseen by the Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner in Hertfordshire.

Commissioner Lloyd said: “My objective as set out in my Volunteer Strategy is to support as many people as possible who want to volunteer in order to make their community a safer place. DriveSafe is an example of how members of the public can be empowered to really make a difference in their neighbourhood, just by committing a relatively small amount of time to take part in speed check operations. I would urge anyone who is concerned about the level of speeding locally to get in touch with my office and find out more about how you can set up a new scheme where you live.”

DriveSafe schemes can be set up if 10 or more residents or local businesses sign a petition expressing concern about speeding in a particular location. It requires at least three people to volunteer to actively run it and the speed limit of the road must be 30mph for safety reasons. (If your road has a 40mph limit or above, please contact your Safer Neighbourhood Team.) A police officer will assess the road for a suitable and safe location to conduct the speed checks.

If you would like to set up a DriveSafe scheme in your area, please access the petition via the Police and Crime Commissioner’s website www.hertscommissioner.org or you can request one by ringing the Commissioner’s office on 01707 806100.