Almost half of drivers breaking speed limit on Horncastle roads

A reactive speed sign owned by Horncastle Town Council ‘clocked’ 39,995 drivers on Jubilee Way. Of those, 17,668 were exceeding the 30mph speed limit - 44.23% of all vehicles. The top speed recorded was 63mph and the average speed 29.9mph. The figures were included in data presented to town councillors at their monthly meeting last Tuesday. Town council chairman Coun Brian Burbidge said he was ‘concerned’ by the numbers involved. However, he said it was ‘perhaps time’ to press for the limit on Jubilee Way to be increased to 40. Coun Maurice Lamb supported an increase, saying he found it difficult to understand why the limit on a more heavily populated section of the A158 (Lincoln Road) was 40. Several councillors pointed out that in the 40mph limit, there is a nearby school while several private drives lead straight onto the A158. Jubilee Way is a more modern and well-lit stretch of road with few access points. The A158 through Horncastle is one of the busiest in the county. It is a key element of multi-million pound proposals for a Coastal Highway designed to ‘speed up’ access to the coast. Police do not hold regular checks on Jubilee Way because it is not regarded as an accident hotspot. The News spoke to several motorists who claimed they were not even aware the limit is 30mph. Paul Taylor (45), said: “I honestly thought it was 40 - like the stretch when you come into Horncastle. “Almost 50% of cars breaking the limit shows other drivers think the same. It’s not a dangerous road. In fact, it’s a lot less dangerous than roads where the limit is 40,” The town council has 16 locations in Horncastle where the signs can operate. Jubilee Way is one of nine sites included in the data. Boston Road was the next highest in terms of the number of drivers exceeding the limit. In a 30mph zone on Boston Road in eight days in December and March, the sign recorded 33,791 vehicles and 8,183 were breaking the limit. The top speed was 66mph. On Lincoln Road, 55,679 vehicles were ‘clocked’ during 15 days in October, and 822 were breaking the 40 limit (1.48%). In Spilsby Road, the figure was 9.89% in a 40mph zone near the Shell Garage. The top speed was 80mph, although that could have been an emergency vehicle. Less than 1% of 10,200 vehicles exceeded the 30mph limit in Stanhope Road South, although the figure in Stanhope Road North was higher (6.10%). More than 240 drivers failed to keep to the 30mph limit on Accommodation Road and the figure for Mareham Road was 91 drivers (15%). The town council say the signs are designed to reduce speeds. Councillors have yet to decide what to do with the data. In a report including the figures, the council says: “It is debatable how useful recording the data is. “It has never been shared with any other agencies and the County Council Highways has previously stated that they would not use it solely to make any decisions on traffic management. “If we were to pass data on to them, they would still carry out their own survey.” The signs are much more accurate than when first introduced. Then, the town council admitted the actual recording device could be activated by pedestrians.