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Police delight at A66 campaign success
Jun 19, 2008
POLICE road safety specialists say they are 'delighted' there were no collisions involving horse-drawn vehicles on the busy A66 route during the duration of this month's Appleby Horse Fair.Thousands of travellers made their way across to Cumbria for this year's event, staged from 5th to 12th June. And in the run-up to the fair officers from Durham, Cumbria and North Yorkshire police forces liaised with staff from the Highways Agency to put a number of measures in place.
These included placing extra signage along the route warning drivers to look out for slower-moving vehicles used by travellers; speed enforcement initiatives, and the free distribution of 100 high-visibility reflective panels, designed to fit easily onto travellers' bowtop caravans to make them more easily seen by other road-users.
The safety campaign began several days before the fair officially started and stayed in place until the weekend, until the vast majority of those attending had headed out of the area.
"We are delighted there were no incidents on the roads involving horse-drawn vehicles, on either the Durham or Cumbria side of the A66. In terms of raod casualties the horse fair was very uneventful – which is exactly what we we hoped for," said Sgt Phil Hill, head of Durham's accident investigation unit.
But on a less positive note a number of drivers ignored the extra police presence and warning signs and continued to travel at speeds well in excess of the limit.
On one day alone Durham's safety camera van recorded 40 vehicles going fast enough to incur a fixed penalty ticket, plus three others which were so far beyond the threshold their drivers are to be taken to court.
The most notable was a VW car heading east, which was clocked at 124mph – the fastest speed on a public highway recorded by the camera van's current main operator, who has been performing these duties for five years.
"Motorists can always expect a greater police presence on the A66 around the time of the Appleby Fair, but it remains a very busy road throughout the year. As a key route linking Durham to Cumbria it is monitored by ourselves and the other agencies on a regular basis," added Sgt Hill.