Audlem Road Safety

After having a discussion with Nick Jarvis on Saturday at the police surgery, he has agreed that this can be posted online and if anyone has any questions, re checking if reporting an incident is worth while, they can contact him directly to discuss it before doing so.

Audlem Road Safety – Please Report Dangerous Driving and Near Misses

With major development proposals currently being considered around Audlem, there are growing concerns within the community about the impact of traffic on the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and other road users.

Audlem is already experiencing significant pressure from traffic, including cars, tractors, HGVs and other large vehicles. Diversions are adding to the volume of traffic travelling through the village, while existing parking and the restricted width of some roads can make passing extremely difficult.

Residents are reporting situations where vehicles are being forced to mount pavements or kerbs in order to get past parked vehicles or other traffic. This creates a very real concern for pedestrian safety, particularly for children, older residents and anyone with mobility difficulties.

A message following discussions with our local PCSO

Following discussions with our local PCSO, Nick Jarvis, residents are being encouraged to report incidents of dangerous or potentially dangerous driving to Cheshire Police rather than simply assuming that nothing can be done.

This includes situations such as:

* Vehicles mounting the pavement or kerb and putting pedestrians at risk.
* Near misses involving pedestrians or cyclists.
* Vehicles passing dangerously because of restricted road width.
* HGVs or other large vehicles struggling to negotiate roads safely.
* Vehicles driving at inappropriate speeds for the conditions.
* Dangerous overtaking or passing manoeuvres.
* Any incident where a pedestrian has been forced to take evasive action.
* Any incident captured on dashcam, CCTV or other video.

The important point is that residents should report actual incidents when they occur, rather than simply saying that the roads are becoming dangerous.

For non-emergency incidents, Cheshire Police advises that people can report matters online at www.Cheshire.Police.Uk
Click on the report tab, road traffic incident, driving offence, report road traffic incident and follow the prompts and add good quality evidence.

Keep a record

Where you report an incident, please make a note of the police reference/incident number and keep a record of it as this is evidence and may be referred back to at a later date also the:

Date:
Time:
Location:
What happened:
Type/description of vehicle:
Vehicle registration, if safely obtained:
Any witnesses:
Good quality evidence ie Photographs/video/dashcam footage
Police reference number:

Please do not put yourself in danger to obtain a registration number, photograph or video. Your safety comes first.

Over time, a properly recorded collection of incidents could provide a much clearer picture of the problems residents are experiencing on Audlem's roads.

Why is this relevant to the development proposals?

The purpose of recording incidents is not to manufacture evidence against any particular planning application.

Rather, it is about establishing an accurate record of the existing highway and pedestrian-safety conditions in the village.

This is particularly important when considering proposals that would bring substantial additional traffic into an already constrained road network.

Cheshire East's own guidance confirms that traffic and road safety are legitimate planning considerations, and that photographs and other information can be included with planning representations.

If residents are regularly experiencing situations where vehicles cannot pass without mounting the kerb, pedestrians are being put at risk, or large vehicles are struggling to negotiate the village, then those incidents are worth recording properly.

Please report – don't just post about it

If you witness a genuinely dangerous incident, please consider reporting it to Cheshire Police rather than simply posting about it on social media.

The aim is to build an accurate, factual record of road-safety issues in Audlem.

This information may then help residents, the Parish Council and others to understand the scale and nature of the existing highway problems when considering the implications of further development.

If you see it – record it.
If it is dangerous – report it.
And keep the report reference number, most important!

Debbie Ruscoe-Icke