Civilian volunteers across Courier country could soon be given the tools to clock speeding motorists as part of plans to roll out a successful pilot scheme.
The UK-wide Speedwatch initiative has already seen community groups in a handful of Fife’s towns and villages armed with radar speed guns in a bid to encourage motorists to slow down.
Such has been the project’s success so far, The Courier understands it is now expected to be taken Fife-wide and potentially further afield as police and their partners focus their attention on tackling excessive speed in built-up areas.
The news comes after it emerged around £6,000 is to be spent on buying three speed guns and associated kits for use in north-east Fife, while residents of Kinglassie are to become the latest to try out the equipment.
Tayside Police is now said to be exploring the possibility of a similar scheme, with as yet unnamed areas in Perth and Kinross expected to be targeted as part of a trial there later this year.
Being caught by a volunteer while driving faster than the speed limit will not lead to prosecution, but volunteers can pass vehicle details on to police, who will then issue a formal written warning to the vehicle’s owner.
In some serious cases, however, police intervention may be required.
Cupar Sergeant Kerry Lynch said the trials in north-east Fife had proved successful so far and confirmed the intention to roll out the initiative across the region.
”We seem to be ahead of the game up here in Cupar on this and we’ve got four groups trained and deployed in the use of the equipment,” she said. ”We’re hoping that this money will allow us to put the training in place for other areas in the north-east.”
Cupar councillor Roger Guy has been one of those taught to use the equipment and he said the training for volunteers is very thorough.
He stressed: ”The objective is not to form teams of local busybodies, but to try to encourage people to drive within the limits of the law so that our communities are made safer.”