Police and transport bosses have launched a clampdown on speeding in Perry Barr after cars were recorded at more than three times the limit through roadworks.
Speed of more than 60 mph have been reached on the A34 with the highest recorded at 71.8 mph, more than the motorway speed limit. These speeding motorists are putting themselves, other road users and road workers at risk.
Measures have been put in place to manage road safety within the road works near the One Stop Shopping Centre and Greyhound Stadium, including introducing a reduced speed limit to 20mph. Despite this cars have been travelling at an average of 31 mph through the works.
The roadworks on Aldridge Road and the A34 are set to continue for the next 18 months while major regeneration and construction works are carried out, including the construction of new homes and a new road layout.
Now West Midlands Police are to hold regular speed checks on the A34 works to deter speeding.
Inspector Samantha Jones, West Midlands Police's Force Traffic Manager, said: "We are working with Birmingham City Council’s contractor to carry out regular speed checks through the roadworks and enforce the 20mph speed limit.
"The limit is in place to keep all those on the road - motorists, pedestrians and the workers at the site - safe.
"Those drivers who exceed the limit are simply putting their own safety and the safety of other road users in danger.
"We hope that our presence will ensure motorists comply with the speed limit and help keep everybody safe through the roadworks."
Works on the A34 are being carried out by Tarmac on behalf of Birmingham City Council.
Robert Chattoe, project manager for Tarmac said: "Safety of the public and workers on all our sites is the first priority at Tarmac, incursions and abuse are a constant concern in the highways industry and we continue to do all we can to protect our people working on schemes across the country.
“It's vital for motorists to understand that by speeding through roadworks there is a significant increase in the chance of causing serious injury or worse to either themselves others or our workforce."
"In collaboration with Birmingham City Council we have implemented a temporary 20mph zone for the duration of the works. As well as increasing safety for roadworkers, road users and the wider community, this will also increase capacity for the road, meaning at peak times more traffic will be able to pass through this area. We only ask for road users to respect this"
Monitoring was carried out in Perry Barr between 13th and 18th September and it was found:
A lane has since been closed on the flyover following a collision on Friday, 2nd October, but further monitoring has revealed that the speed limit is still being exceeded. Those caught speeding face fines and points on their licence.
Anne Shaw, director of network resilience for TfWM, said: “This is a live construction site and the speed limit has been put in place to keep both road users and the construction workers safe.
“We know that a collision here could not only be devastating for the people involved, but could bring traffic in the area to a standstill – so respecting the speed limit is important for keeping traffic moving.
“The works will cause disruption, so we ask people to consider alternative routes, use public transport where possible or make their journeys for less busy times of day and, before travelling, check the up to date travel information from our West Midlands Network website.”
Higher speeds mean that drivers have less time to identify and react to what is happening around them, and it takes longer for the vehicle to stop. It removes the driver’s safety margin and turns near misses into crashes.
If an individual drives more than 10 - 15% above the average speed of the traffic around them, they are much more likely to be involved in an accident.
The risk of a pedestrian who is hit by a car being killed increases slowly until impact speeds of around 30 mph. Above this speed, the risk increases rapidly, so that a pedestrian who is hit by a car travelling at between 30mph and 40 mph is between 3.5 and 5.5 times more likely to be killed than if hit by a car travelling at below 30mph.
