A new study has this week revealed that thousands of motorists are continuing to break the 30mph speed limit along Marine Drive in Burnham-On-Sea, with some travelling at over 50mph, prompting a councillor to call for more to be done to address the problem.
Official data gathered by Somerset County Council recorded the speed of 24,584 vehicles along the road between July 21st and August 3rd.
Of the vehicles monitored by the device, just 7,850 were travelling at the 30mph limit or slower.
And 15,669 vehicles were travelling at between 30-40mph and 969 were driving at 40-50mph. A further 96 vehicles were clocked at over 50mph.
The figures were discussed by town councillors at their latest meeting on Monday evening (September 5th).
Cllr Andy Brewer, who lives just off Marine Drive, said: “I do think this is a matter of concern. It’s a concern that over 16,500 drivers were doing more than 30mph over the two weeks.”
“We are all aware that if a pedestrian is hit at 30mph they have a 75% chance of surviving but at 40mph they have a 75% chance of not surviving. I’m not necessarily suggesting any drastic measures but I think we should express our concern.”
Cllr Paul Young has previously said: “More needs to be done to make this road safer. I’d like to see new painted lines along the road to make it feel narrower and less like a wide, open road.”
The figures, gathered by Somerset County Council for the Town Council using a Speed Indicator Device (pictured above), have been passed to the police who will consider stepping up speed checks.
