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Unmarked police go on patrol

James Crisp
28/ 3/2007

POLICE have pledged to keep driving down the numbers of casualties on two of the borough's most dangerous roads.

A spring and summer safety campaign is about to begin on the A537 Cat and Fiddle road and the neighbouring A54 road. Both routes are regularly used by bikers and kit car enthusiasts.

This weekend (March 31) the roads will be patrolled by police bikers and officers in marked and unmarked cars. Camera vans and the spotter plane will also be out and about.

Firefighters and police will be promoting Bikesafe courses and doing safety demonstrations in the car park of the Cat and Fiddle pub.

Sergeant Carl Bailey said: "The fact that the A537 has lost its tag of 'Britain's most dangerous road' is directly linked to the last five years of this campaign.

"We will be checking that bikers and motorists observe the 50mph limit on the A537 and the 60mph limit on the A54, and looking out for people crossing the solid white lines, which are on long stretches of these roads.

"The lines are there because visibility is very limited, or the road itself creates a potential hazard. Combined with speed, going on to the wrong side of the road is lethal.

"This is the time of year when the bikes and kit cars are brought out after being stored over winter.

"This will be the first of several when we'll be out there with the riders and drivers. We won't want to spoil their pleasure but we want them to get though the summer without causing themselves, or anyone else, serious injury."