But the rural roads now have a deresticted limit of 60 mph and that is clearly being ignored. Not sure that a 50 mph limit will change anything. Mobile speed cameras may do the trick, try and hit the offenders with fines and points.

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the roads already have a speed limit of 60mph so putting it down to 50mph will stop people speeding?

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Meanwhile in Telford … ‘traffic management’ are putting in pedestrian refuges on the Horsehay bypass where there are no pedestrians and no pavements and reducing the speed limit from 60 to 50, and 40 in places because residents are worried about speeding.

The refuges are there to enforce the slower speeds, which are fair because – that’s what people are driving at anyway! (No, me neither).

And no, there haven’t been any accidents, at least until the holes for the refuges were left unlit at night and one got cones and barriers splattered over the road.

I’ve travelled that road at least 10 times a week for at least 10 years and never seen one solitary pedestrian trying to cross.

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Living in one of the villages situated off this road I qualify as a resident and can confirm that speeds on this road ARE dangerously excessive. Most worrying of all is that many people ignore the 30mph limits that have recently been imposed through the villages. I am no advocate for needless speed cameras but the one speed camera site at Broadstone, which is a 40mph limit, is certainly effective. What many non residents/ country drivers/ boy racers/ born again bikers fail to recognise is that this is a road that is used by numerous farm machines which access onto and off the road at the many side junctions. I have witnessed many a motorcyclist/ motorist driving at ludicrous speeds along this road and several near misses when they have crested a hill or rounded a bend to find a slower moving vehicle ahead.

Whilst I agree speed alone does not cause accidents, speed with poor knowledge/ over confidence and a lack of awareness when driving on rural roads does kill!

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How can dropping the speed limit that is being ignored anyway help?

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“Most worrying of all is that many people ignore the 30mph limits that have recently been imposed through the villages”

Many speed limits are being introduced to hamlets that don’t qualify as “villages” by Department for Transport guidelines, which may explain why motorists are ignoring 30MPH limits in places that aren’t really villages. Do these “villages” have 20 or more properties fronting the main road, Shropslad?
If not then they shouldn’t have 30MPH limits anyway.

Motorists, in the main, aren’t stupid, which is why there is realistically, a low accident rate on this road.

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I live in the corfton area too and the bikes do travel far too fast but so too do the car/van drivers, especially delivery drivers. My kids go to the school in Diddlebury which is also a reason why its a 30mph. Imagine if the kids are on their day out trips when these lunatics are about. That said reducing the limit won’t work, need more of those flashy signs.

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Some interesting comments, some misguided, some plain stupid.

I am sat here typing this less than 10 metres from the B4368 in a little hamlet called Hungerford. The council have very kindly put a speed limit of 40mph on this particular stretch of road.This is probably because sadly there have been a number of deaths here where the inquests have found excessive speed to be a factor.

I’m going to try and NOT exaggerate what we are living with 365 days a year. I do not see motorcyclists travelling by at 120mph, I own an R1 and I know what 120mph looks like. Actually motorcyclists are generally the best behaved in terms of speed.

I will also add that I don’t care what people are doing once away from built up areas (no matter how small those built up areas are)

So here is what I do see, every day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It matters not what the weather is like; fog, rain, sleet or what time of day/night it is.

I can safely estimate that over 80% of drivers speed through our village, probably averaging somewhere between 55-65 mph. On the odd occasion, normally in the early and late rush hour (pun intended) there are some exceptionally daft drivers that think nothing of exceeding 80 mph.

They of course do this without any fear of prosecution. on the rare occasion that the speed camera van is around we get a brief but welcome respite.

Now, why am I bothered by it? is it really such a big deal? Is it my fault for choosing to live next to a road?

I think you would have to spend a day in my shoes to understand.

The noise a vehicle makes when travelling at 40mph is bearable. The noise an articulated truck makes going past at over 55mph shakes my house, wakes my kids and scares my dog. The road noise from cars travelling at speed is probably the single most annoying thing about living here.

I live on a slight bend. The sight of my wife trying to pull out of our drive safely to take my kids to school is one that strikes fear into my soul every day. When she has successfully negotiated the first hurdle it is seconds before someone is trying to cram their vehicle into the back of ours with all the standard accompanying gestures, flashing lights etc etc. clearly they have an emergency to get to?

If I lived in a 60mph limit I would accept this as part and parcel of living by a busy road, but I don’t. I observe speed limits in built up areas because I understand what those people are going through and I have some basic respect for others.

What also surprises me is the fact that we are not talking about “boy racers” here. This is all ages, both genders and even more surprisingly, professional drivers who clearly don’t regard their licence as something which can be lost. It is just prolific and unstoppable.

While I am here maybe the Shropshire Star could have a quick word with your delivery drivers as two of your vans have just gone past doing in excess of 60..might as well start somewhere.

There will be those that think I am exaggerating and that is understandable, like I say, come spend a day in my shoes. Also I don’t need my speed detection device calibrated, it is a military spec IR laser range finder and works very well, highest recorded speed was an old aged man in a 4×4 doing 93mph with his wife (I presume) sat next to him.

So what can be done? Nothing probably but here are a few ideas.

1. Maybe it is time to go back to concealed speed traps like they do in N Yorks, I believe that if someone thinks there is a serious chance of getting caught then they may change their attitude, especially those people that rely on having a licence for income.

2. Average speed check cameras for built up areas. It would work but very expensive.

3. Give residents the equipment to record offenders and then let the authorities prosecute those caught. It would make some people very unpopular but I’d volunteer for a stint. After 5 years in N Ireland and 3 operational tours in the Middle East I’m sure I could handle a couple of inconsiderate Shropshire drivers.

4. At least give us one of those signs that flashes up the actual speed of the vehicle travelling by, sometimes it makes people think. Plus, I can film it and put it on you tube to expose the idiots.

Ok,that’s off my chest. just one last thing to say.

Please slow down to within the speed limit when going through any village/hamlet.

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PLEASE do not mess with the speed limits in Corvedale – enforce the limits we already have! It’s that simple. Far too many people ignore the 30′s in Diddlebury, Aston Munslow and Munslow and the 40 in Hungerford/Broadstone. There’s no need to penalise those of us who stick to the limit by swapping the national limit for 50mph. People who ignore the limits now will just ignore any new limits too. I would dearly like to see a traffic officer in our villages at 7am where any speed seems to apply.

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