Safer streets for pupils: New effort to slow traffic near Swindon school

Wiltshire Police have joined forces with the community around Queens Drive, Swindon, to raise awareness of persistent speeding outside a Swindon primary school, after enforcement alone has failed to curb the problem.

On average 79 drivers have been found to be speeding past Holy Cross Junior School on Queens Drive during each 65 enforcement sessions in the last 12 months. That is 5,149 motorists recorded exceeding the 30mph speed limit.

Andy Hicks, Speed Enforcement Officer for Wiltshire Police said, "Queens Drive is an unusual location. Despite being a 30mph road, it consists of six lanes, three in each direction, effectively creating a mini‑motorway directly past a primary school.

"Along the same stretch sits an ambulance station and a day hub supporting vulnerable and homeless adults.

"This combination of high‑speed traffic and vulnerable pedestrians makes strict speed compliance absolutely essential."

On Monday (May 18), parents, teachers, students, the Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson, and Councillor Adorabelle Shaikh from Swindon Borough Council joined police officers at Holy Cross Junior School to discuss the problem. Students were given a lesson on road safety and in a practical demonstration learnt about stopping distances. 

The Police and Crime Commissioner said: “Keeping young people safe has to be a priority for all of us, and speed enforcement has always been a priority in my Police and Crime Plan.

“There are more speeding drivers caught outside this school driving over 50mph in a 30mph zone than probably anywhere else in the county, and that’s why we have to make these areas of potential high harm a high priority.

“Everybody needs to play their part, that’s from the headteacher and the school staff who are brilliant, to the parents, children, the police, my office and the council, we all need to work together.”

Speed Enforcement Officers tackle elements of the Fatal 5: speeding, mobile phone use, not wearing seatbelts, drink/drug driving, and careless or distracted driving. Enforcement locations across Wiltshire are selected through risk‑based analysis, focusing our efforts where the likelihood of harm is highest.

Andy Hicks went on to say, "Officers have witnessed parents with children attempting to cross all six lanes of traffic rather than using the nearby pedestrian crossing, placing themselves and their children at significant risk.

"Vulnerable adults have also been seen stepping into the road without awareness of the dangers. These behaviours, combined with excessive vehicle speeds, create a serious and entirely avoidable threat to life."

Wiltshire Police are working closely with Swindon Borough Council to secure additional signage and road‑safety measures, following feedback that signage is insufficient, and some sat‑nav systems reportedly incorrectly show the road as 40mph, despite the limit being reduced to 30mph in 2018.

Speed limits are set for a reason and exceeding them is illegal. The minimum penalty for speeding is a fixed penalty fine of £100 and three points added to your licence.

Receiving 12 or more points within three years may disqualify you from driving. 

Find out more about speeding and how it could affect you here