'It's a slow burn' - volunteer speed watch group aims to transform Greater Manchester's roads
The Chorlton Speedwatch group spends hours a week monitoring some of the busiest roads in Chorlton.
Last updated 9th May 2018
Volunteers are stepping up their fight against speeding drivers in Greater Manchester.
The Chorlton Community Speedwatch group meets at least once a week to monitor traffic on some of the busiest roads in the suburb.
They use specialist traffic monitoring equipment to record the speed of passing vehicles.
They are then able to pass on any details of serious offenders to police officers, who can then choose whether to issue a warning letter.
Joanna Midgeley is one of the volunteers, as well as a councillor in the Chorlton Park ward:
"It comes up an awful lot of time in our community and our community groups, it's something people really care about. If we can convince one person, they'll pass that one to their friends and family and it's then just that drip, drip, drip of awareness.
These are busy roads and it is difficult to drive at 20, we know. But you've got to retrain yourself."
Mandie has volunteered for two years:
"Local people were just getting completely fed up with people speeding. Mauldeth road is just horrendous. We've caught people doing 50 there.
"Most people speed just a little bit. It's about encouraging those people who speed a bit just to ease off because there's a massive difference in the life chances of those people who get hit by a car that's going at 20 and a car that's going at 30."
The group were originally run by Greater Manchester Police and used police speed guns under officer supervision. But after they managed to secure their own funding the Chorlton speedwatch volunteers moved to be an independently run service:
"We used to use police equipment - those speedguns that look like hairdryers. Now they're kind of like mobile phones. They're easier to use and more compact, plus they don't hurt your shoulders. The only downside is that people think we're filming them and they get angry so we have to tell them there's no images, it's just to check on their speed."
The group say the more volunteers they have, the more they're able to do to help the local area.
To find out more information, head to: