REPRESENTATIVES from the emergency services and local authorities are set to take part in a public demonstration of new traffic calming measures in Newton Abbot.

The event on Friday, November 4, will showcase deployment of Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS), funded by a £10,000 award from the Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez, as part of the Vision Zero South West initiative.

The multi-agency programme aims to eliminate all road deaths in the region by 2040.

According to Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, 47 people were killed and 647 were seriously injured on the two counties’ roads in 2021.

Projects similar to Vision Zero in other countries have produced a dramatic reduction in the number of casualties.

In 2019, Helsinki authorities recorded no pedestrian deaths for the first time since records began in 1960, down from an average of 20-30 a year in the 1990s.

In Oslo there were also no pedestrian or cyclist deaths in the city during 2019 and no children under 16 died in traffic crashes in the entire country.

The Newton Abbot exercise will involve the use of VAS portable speed indicators, secured for the town council by member Cllr Mike Joyce who coordinates the local Speed Watch scheme.

He said: ‘Our new VAS are being rolled out for the first time on November 4 at the junction of Aller Brake Road and St Marychurch Road.

‘I’ve chosen this spot as it’s one of the town’s busiest stretches and source of most complaints about speeding.

‘Two other VAS units will be deployed on Ashburton Road where there are also concerns.

‘It’s taken a while to acquire the new equipment so I’m very grateful to the Commissioner for providing the funds.

‘Newton Abbot Town Council, under the Speed Watch scheme and in line with Vision Zero, will now be able to deploy the signs as and when it sees fit as part of our relentless efforts to make roads safe and reduce the dreadful impact on families and society that we know results from serious traffic incidents.’

Safe viewing arrangements are being made for all those attending the event which is scheduled for 10.30am.

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