Academy calls for new restrictions to tackle speeding

The figures are being collected by Theddlethorpe Parish Council in its bid to encourage Lincolnshire County Council’s Highways team to install a 20mph speed limit and other traffic calming measures along Mill Road.

The figures show that between October 4 and November 14 this year, more than 37,500 vehicles drove past the Academy, with 34,000 of those breaking the current speed limit of 30mph.

Of those, 13,000 were 10mph or more above the speed limit, and approximately 700 were 20mph or more above it. And 250 drivers were over the national speed limit.

Mill Road is often seen as a cut through for drivers from Mablethorpe to Louth with around 1,000 vehicles a day using it.

Susan Cook, principal of Theddlethorpe Academy, said the risks taken by drivers outside of the school are shameful.

She said: “This is a rural primary school with a nursery attached so children and parents are coming and going throughout the day. “Even with a 30mph speed limit along here, the chances of an accident remain high.

“Yet many drivers seem to ignore the speed limit completely and continue to drive very fast past the academy at all times of the day.

“We feel that the only way to create a safer environment for our children is to reduce the speed limit further.

“We are also very much in support of the parish council’s bid for either speed bumps or even staggered gates along Mill Road, which we hope would ensure that drivers have to comply with the speed limits.

“I knew the traffic along here was a problem, but when you see figures like this it really puts the risks into perspective. We appeal to all motorists to remember that the academy is here and that we have very young children coming and going each day.

“Please be aware of that when you drive along here and slow down, particularly as you approach the school.”

Parish Council chairman, Carl Richardson, said: “We all recognise that there are more vehicles on our roads, and vehicles (especially in rural communities) have become physically larger and when combined with more journeys, they create increased risk of speed and collision. Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership have been very helpful and we are members of the Lincolnshire Road Safety Scheme and continue to support the safety model.

“But improved information and temporary law enforcement is sometimes not enough to achieve the necessary outcomes required.

“We will continue to work with the Highways Authority to try to get support for further measures to cut drivers’ speed.”