Hampshire county councillor Russell Oppenheimer believes speeding drivers are harming Petersfield’s drive to become a healthy, green town. It’s time to do something about it, he says. Here is his report...

We need to talk about speeding. Most residents of Petersfield and the surrounding villages own a car (or bike) or live near a road – so this is an issue which affects virtually all of us.

Currently, the majority of drivers routinely break the speed limit. This is not a minor problem, speeding is causing great harm on a daily basis. In this article I would like to invite readers to consider the case for adjusting their own driving habits.

Speeding in our area has three seriously detrimental effects.

Firstly, speeding discourages walking and cycling, and therefore contributes indirectly to climate change and obesity.

Secondly, speeding creates harsh noise, rattling and revving which is disturbing to residents, causing stress and other health issues.

Thirdly, speeding directly contributes to road accidents: we have sadly had an increase in the number of deaths on the roads of Petersfield in recent years.

Let’s just clear something up. Too many people suffer from the misapprehension it is okay to drive ten per cent over the speed limit. As a consequence, they routinely drive at 33mph or 34mph in a zone where the speed limit is 30mph.

This is a huge part of the problem.

There is, in fact, no tolerance level – it is illegal to drive over the speed limit.

Every 1mph which you drive over the speed limit increases your chances of having a serious accident by five per cent.

So driving at 34mph means that you are 20 per cent more likely to have an accident in which someone is injured or killed.

The impact on cyclists and residents from these higher speeds is also substantial.

Life moves pretty fast – as Ferris Bueller once said. We can all get stressed by the pressure of getting to an important meeting while getting the kids to school and collecting groceries.

Can we stop seeing the car journey as a chance to make up lost time?

Can we instead start seeing those car journeys as an opportunity to slow down and breathe?

Let us make an active choice to obey speed limits scrupulously. Let us resolve to keep in mind our responsibility to our fellow citizens and our environment.

Speed enforcement is the responsibility of the police. They do undertake enforcement and issue fines but they do not have the resources to be in Petersfield every week.

Community Speedwatch is playing a helpful role but it would be better if we were to tackle the culture of speeding through a conscious shift in our driving behaviour.

If enough of us slow down, we can force all drivers to drive at the right speed.

Traffic-calming measures can help but their benefit tends to fade over time.

On Pulens Lane, for example, over the past two years Hampshire Highways have implemented dragon’s teeth, strips, coloured surfaces, Think30! signs, and reflective bollards.

Too many people are still speeding.

We are now moving forward with Speed Limit Reminder flashing indicators on this road and we are also developing plans for road-narrowing.

Without a collective change in attitude, however, there is a risk that these measures will not eliminate speeding either.

I should explain that “raised measures” such as speed bumps and speed tables are no longer considered viable because they increase emissions.

We all love living in a peaceful and tranquil area. Unfortunately, speeding is a blight on that tranquillity for many.

And speeding is blocking our transition to becoming a healthy, green town. We have it within our power to change that. It is a simple choice to make, and it will mean you are doing your part to make our planet and our town a much better place to be.

Russell Oppenheimer is county councillor for Petersfield Hangers and executive member for Highways Operations at Hampshire County Council.