Community Speed Watch – Private

Community Speed Watch: March 2026 Report

by
17 February, 2026

Brailes Road Safety Improvement Plan

Thanks to the persistence of the Brailes Community Speed Watch team and support of the Parish Council, we are delighted to report that Stage 1 of our School Safety Zone plan has been approved. 

The sets of Flashing School Zone signs are highly visible to vehicle drivers warning them that children and parents are around, many of whom will need to cross the road. This is particularly important during school drop-off and collection times. The signs will be sited in 3 locations around the school creating a new ‘School Safety Zone’.

However, this is only part of what is needed to make it safer for children to cross the road. 

In conjunction with the Flashing School Zone signs, within the ‘School Safety Zone’ we also need to install a pedestrian ‘Zebra’ crossing. This will ‘encourage’ children to cross the road in a safer location instead of dodging between cars anywhere along the stretch between Sutton Lane and the School as they do now. 


Zebra crossings in front of schools are critical safety measures designed to protect children by requiring motorists to stop when pedestrians are waiting or are already crossing. These areas, often marked with yellow zigzags to prohibit parking, feature flashing amber beacons and are frequently upgraded with raised platforms or speed humps to slow traffic.

The Brailes School Safety Zone Crowdfunding page is up and running, so please help if you can. Even the cost of a cup of coffee will help us make a big and long overdue difference. 

We have been told that the cost of a zebra crossing alone can be as much as £40k and may take many months to approve, so we are also looking at other ways to make crossing the road safer in the meantime. There are some grants available that we have applied for, as we did with the Flashing School Zone signs, but these will not cover the total cost, therefore our fundraising activities must continue. We are very grateful to some of our local business sponsors below who have kindly made generous donations to help support our road safety plans so far; of course we hope more will come on board to help us achieve the next stage.

The George

Our village pub – offering a fine selection of ales and wines and an excellent menu available in the restaurant. 

Cotswold Marquees

Traditional marquees for sale or hire to suit any event. Fabrication service also available for trailer, pergolas, barn covers. etc

Essence Hairdressers

Jane & Jo are ready to give you a warm welcome. Nails with Amy every other Friday.

If you can help us improve road safety in any way at all, please do get in touch with the Community Speed Watch team by email to:  br****************@*****ok.com 

-> OUR CROWD-FUNDING APPEAL

(https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/brailes-school-safety-zone)

Thank You

Community Speed Watch: January 2026 Report

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18 December, 2025

Brailes Road Safety Improvement Plan

Plans are progressing to introduce a School Safety Zone to make the area around the school safer for everyone to cross the road. The first stage of the plan is to install warning signs that advise drivers to slow down to 20mph when the lights are flashing during school term drop-off and pick-up times. Further physical traffic calming measures are necessary and expected to follow.

The two static cameras record over 200 vehicles exceed 35mph every day!
Impatient drivers have been noted overtaking vehicles throughout the village.

As we reported last month, the area around the Primary School is our number one priority because children are constantly being put at risk crossing the road.  The School has reported several near-miss incidents in recent times where it’s been more luck than judgement that a child has not been seriously injured crossing the road outside the school gates!

The School Safety Zone project will be funded by a combination of means including a government grant that is available for improving road safety. Financial support will also come via the Parish Council as well as generous donations from the public. Many local initiatives have begun to help raise money for the cause. It is also hoped some of the businesses in the village will also consider making a donation so they too can be associated with helping to improve road safety. We all have a vested interest to make this happen.

There are lots of adverts on television from numerous charities asking for our money and there’s no doubt all are good causes whether in this country or abroad, however this is a request for your help to protect OUR children in OUR village at OUR school.

The Brailes School Safety Zone Crowdfunding page is up and running, so please help if you can. Even the cost of a cup of coffee will help us make a big and long overdue difference. 

-> OUR CROWD-FUNDING APPEAL

(https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/brailes-school-safety-zone)

If you are able to help us improve the safety of everyone but especially our next generation, please do get in touch by email to:  br****************@*****ok.com. 

Community Speed Watch: December Report

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24 November, 2025

Brailes Road Safety Improvement Plan

As has been reported many times, speeding is a serious problem in the village and so it is good to report that progress to address the problem is now being made. 

The area around the Primary School is the most concerning where children are constantly being put at risk crossing the road.  The School has reported several near-miss accidents in recent times where it’s been more luck than judgement that a child has not been seriously injured crossing the road outside the school gates!

We have worked with the School throughout the process and our School Safety Zone project is the culmination of research combined with their suggestions on what needs to be done, so a big thank you to all the children, the parents and of course to Mrs Childs and her team for their enthusiastic support. Here is a reminder of some of the children’s ideas:

It is our absolute priority right now to work with Warwickshire County Council and all relevant stakeholders to gain agreement to implement an appropriate  School Safety Zone; ideally with 20mph flashing warning signs that operate during drop-off and pick-up times each side of a raised zebra crossing that ensures vehicles are ‘forced’ to slow down at that crossing point. As we stand currently there is no designated or identifiable safe crossing point by the school.

How can we fund the project?

In April we were made aware of a ‘Highways Community Action Fund’. This is a Government funded grant that local Councils have available to use to support towns and villages improve road safety and reduce potential serious injuries and death from road traffic accidents. We submitted a claim for this grant which has been approved, subject to the Councils’ audit checks and agreement. The grant supports up to 50% of the cost of the project.

The estimated total cost of implementing our School Safety Zone could be c£40k.

– 50% of this would be covered by the HCAF grant = £20k.

– The balance of £20k is what we are now working on.

The Parish Council will provide some financial support of course, plus we have the opportunity to look to our village business owners to help. We are also planning on holding lots of different events, like cake stalls, book sales, raffles, etc. etc. Donations are already underway.

We now have a Brailes School Safety Zone crowdfunding page where donations from businesses, sponsorship events and from the public can be made to support this cause, which of course will be greatly appreciated.

Please follow this appeal link below to check our progress and kindly make your donation:

-> OUR CROWD-FUNDING APPEAL

(https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/brailes-school-safety-zone)

If you are able to help us improve the safety of everyone but especially our next generation, please do get in touch by email to:  br****************@*****ok.com. 

Community Speed Watch: November Report

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15 October, 2025

In case you wondered why the Community Speed Watch (CSW) team continues to monitor vehicle speed in Brailes the answer is simple – it’s because a number of motorists persist in exceeding the speed limit in a built-up area risking not only their lives but others too. 
 
Data from the static speed cameras show that on average, 50% of all vehicles that travel through Brailes exceed 30mph. 
 
Children and vulnerable road users are at a particular risk from higher traffic speeds. Data from the Department for Transport shows the risk of a pedestrian being killed if hit by a car increases from 10% at 30mph to 70% at 50 mph. The area around the Primary School in the village is the most worrying and action is being taken to look at the options to make this safer for children and parents to be able to walk to school and cross the road. 
 
The CSW team are unpaid village residents who volunteer their time freely in the hope of making these errant drivers be more conscious of their speed and adhere to the speed limit for the safety of everyone. Feedback from villagers is always welcome and the vast majority that we receive is constructive and positive, because they acknowledge the problem and support what the CSW team is doing.

Each volunteer is approved by Warwickshire Police and there are strict operational guidelines that are followed; including the number of volunteers that are required for each speed monitoring event, which is between 3 – 5. Each of the locations used has also been specifically determined by the Police with Google Map photographs showing exactly where the team must operate. As a result of this the Police can track the traffic data and take the necessary action; including visiting persistent speeders wherever in the Country they may live. The CSW team derive no pleasure out of monitoring vehicle speeds; the hope is that by being seen frequently, motorists become more conscious of their speed and drive accordingly,which we trust all villagers appreciate. 
 
However, it is totally unacceptable for anyone in the team to be threatened or intimidated. Warwickshire Police want to know if this happens because they not only endorse what the CSW team is doing, they also provide details of who to contact should anyone feel the need to question why speed monitoring is necessary.

If you wish to support our road safety endeavours in any way please feel free to get us touch with us by emailing the CSW team via  br****************@*****ok.com. 

The persons you have approached are operating with the support of Warwickshire Police as Community Speed Watch Volunteers.

They are obliged to report to the police any threats, acts of intimidation or violence towards them.

They are also under instruction not to get involved in any disputes over their activity.

If you wish to raise any issues regarding this matter, please contact me on the telephone number or email address below.

Many people die on Warwickshire roads each year and many more suffer from serious, life changing injuries. The department for Transport has identified the main contributory factor in over 30% of fatal collisions as being excessive or inappropriate speed.

Community Speed Watch supports the police by monitoring the speed of vehicles through local communities. It is an opportunity for communities to engage in a local problem, increase public awareness of inappropriate speed and improve the quality of life in their community.

Community Speed Watch volunteers do not enforce the law, but those identified as exceeding the limit can expect to receive an advisory letter from the police.

Yours faithfully
Gary Strain
Road Safety Officer
Road Safety Unit
Tel: 01788 852004
Email: ga*********@*****************ce.uk

Community Speed Watch: Police Speed Detector vans in Brailes again

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22 September, 2025

Police speed detector vans have been operating in the village again recently due to the continued high numbers of vehicles that exceed the 30mph speed limit. 

Road Safety Improvement Plan (RSIP)

Those of you who attended the public meeting in July will be aware of our intention to implement some  traffic calming measures to reduce the speed of drivers who persist in ignoring the legal speed limit. Vehicles have been noted overtaking at speed in the village where children and vulnerable road users could well be about to cross the road. The risk of a pedestrian being killed if hit by a car increases from 10% at 30mph to 70% at 50 mph.

No journey can be so important that, for the sake of a few minutes gained by speeding, the consequence of a serious accident causes someone life changing injuries…. or death.

The area around the School is our top priority and part of our RSIP is a School Safety Zone that creates a designated safe place to cross the road. Discussions are underway with the County Council Highways team along with plans to ensure we have the appropriate funding in place. In the meantime the Community Speed Watch team will continue to try to ‘educate’ speeding drivers to slow down.

If you would like to help and be part of the team working on improving road safety in any way or would like to join the Community Speed Watch team please let us know by email to: br****************@*****ok.com using the header “I’d like to help improve road safety”.. Thank you.

Community Speed Watch: August Report

by
27 August, 2025


The Community Speed Watch (CSW) team continue to be active throughout the village with the sole objective of reminding drivers to be more conscious of their speed. During July the CSW team held a Speed Monitoring event 5 times with 6 more ‘events’ scheduled during August. Almost 400 vehicles have been reported to the Police for excessive speeding during Speed Monitoring events held so far this year. Many are repeat offenders!

Even more serious is the overall number of speeding vehicles recorded by the static speed cameras. Located at either end of the village the cameras record vehicle speed 24/7 and the data collected from the cameras show around half of all vehicles entering and leaving the village exceed 30mph.

Drivers need to slow down!

As was shared last month, more permanent Traffic Calming measures to address the ongoing risk of another serious road traffic accident was one of three key topics presented at the Brailes village meeting on the 13th of July. Details of our proposed Road Safety Improvement Plan including a ‘School Safety Zone’ and locations of other permanent traffic calming measures were discussed and received unanimous support from members of the public that attended. Details of our plan can be found on the Brailes Village website. 

Obviously the ‘School Safety Zone’ is at the heart of our village plan and so we will continue to engage with the staff, parents and children at the school to ensure we do everything possible to make it as safe as possible for all concerned.  Apart from our plan for school flashing signs and a raised zebra crossing to forcibly reduce traffic speed, there are other things we could do in the meantime. This includes the possibility of inviting a Police Road Safety Officer to attend the school to help make the children more aware of the dangers crossing the road. 

We could also potentially reduce the inherent risks of vehicle parking on the road near the school at drop-off and collection times. As a reminder, drivers are encouraged to use the Village Hall car park as the default place to park and more safely deliver and collect their children from the school. It must be noted however, there will be occasion when the Village Hall is being hired at these times and therefore may not be freely available. On these occasions parents will need to resort to parking safely somewhere else until we find a better solution.

As you may have seen in last months’ Feldon News report, the children themselves have made it very clear they want us to reduce traffic speed and provide them with a safer place to cross the road.

These were just some of their ideas:


Road Safety Improvement Plan – update

Discussions have already taken place with Warwickshire County Council regarding our village Road Safety Improvement Plan and whilst there are several challenges we face to comply with DfT Highways regulations, including consultation with all ‘Blue Light Service’ vehicles, we will continue to do all that is necessary to follow this through to improve road safety in the village as quickly as possible. 

The good news is that we have received recent confirmation that in principle, our application for a Government grant that will contribute up to 50% of the cost of such road safety measures has been approved. For our part of the costs, we are preparing a fund-raising programme that will include a proposition to be presented to local businesses that allows them to contribute towards the balance of costs and be associated with our School Safety Zone plan. We will continue to update our progress in future editions of Feldon News.

If you wish to support our road safety endeavours in any way please feel free to get us touch with us by emailing the CSW team via  br****************@*****ok.com. 

Community Speed Watch: Brailes Road Safety Improvement Plan

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1 August, 2025

Speeding was one of three key topics presented at the Brailes village meeting on the 13th July. Details of our proposed ‘School Safety Zone’ and locations of other permanent traffic calming measures were discussed and received unanimous support from members of the public that attended. Our intention now is to progress the plan to the next phase. We will keep you updated on our progress.

Given all the evidential data that has been collected for nearly 3 years now, speeding remains an ongoing serious issue. On average:

– 50,000 vehicles drive through Brailes every Month

– 24,000 exceed 30mph

– 7,000 exceed 35mph, that’s 233 every day !

– A high % of speeding occurs between 7-9am and 4-6pm

Speeds of over 50mph are regularly recorded during the day, the highest in June was 65mph in Lower Brailes and 57mph in Upper Brailes.


The School has played a very important part in our Road Safety Improvement Plan so far. The children have got involved and told us what they think we need to do to make the roads safer for everyone to cross. We’ve had lots of suggestions so a big thank you to all the children and of course to Mrs Childs and her team for their enthusiastic support. 
Here are just some of their ideas:

The parents were also invited to give us their views. Some really good and practical feedback was received. The overwhelming response for a designated ‘zebra’ crossing and means of physically slowing traffic speed is included in the plan.

However, the inherent dangers of parking on the main road by the school at drop-off and pick-up times was also raised as an issue, especially when children have to exit a vehicle in the middle of the road. Part of the plan therefore is to provide a safer place for parents to park and for the children to have a safer route to school.

In the meantime the Community Speed Watch (CSW) team will continue to be seen throughout the village to try to make drivers more aware of their speed so if you want to help and can spare an hour or so a month why not join the team. You can do this by emailing the CSW team via  br****************@*****ok.com.

Community Speed Watch: July Report

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27 July, 2025

Police now supporting the need to reduce speeding in Brailes

Police have been attending the village recently as a result of the continuing number of speeders recorded by the static cameras.

You may have also noticed the twin pairs of wires across the road just past the George recently, which are also monitoring vehicle speed there.


It is clear to anyone who cares about road safety and the consequential risks caused by unnecessary speeding, that more permanent traffic calming measures need to be put in place. 

Vulnerable road users are at a particular risk from higher traffic speeds. The risk of a pedestrian being killed if hit by a car increases from 10% at 30mph to 70% at 50 mph. 

Given all the evidential data that has been collected for nearly 3 years now, improving Road Safety is a key priority. The area around the Primary School is especially critical and plans have been drawn up to help make this safer for children and parents to be able to walk to school and cross the road.  

Details of our proposed School Safety Zone along with other permanent traffic calming measures for the village where excess speeding is a serious problem will be shared at the public meeting planned to be held on July 13th in the Village Hall when your input will be most welcome.

In the meantime the Community Speed Watch team continue to try to ‘educate’ speeding drivers to slow down so if you can spare an hour or so a month and would like to join the CSW team please let us know by email to: br****************@*****ok.com.

Community Speed Watch: June Report

by
27 June, 2025

Playing a crucial role to help keep our village safer for all road users

In case you wondered why a Community Speed Watch (CSW) team has appeared throughout Brailes regularly for the last 12 months the answer is simple – it’s because  a number of motorists persist in failing to acknowledge the speed limit in a built-up area risking not only theirs’ but other peoples’ lives too.

According to the Department for Transport a safe road system is one that has an appropriate speed limit given the surroundings. This should be guided by the knowledge of the human body’s tolerance to external forces. DfT studies show that reductions in average speed result in substantial casualty reduction in the event of an accident. Vulnerable road users are at a particular risk from higher traffic speeds. The risk of a pedestrian being killed if hit by a car increases from 10% at 30mph to 70% at 50 mph.

Data relating to all vehicles that travel through Brailes is recorded by the two static cameras at either end of the village twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The data shows that on average 48,000 vehicles travel through Brailes every month. 6500 of these are speeding which is more than 210 vehicles every single day. In the month of April alone, 110 vehicles were recorded exceeding 50 mph!

As the camera data shows, the vast majority of motorists do drive within the speed limit. However, it’s the drivers who ignore all the warnings and persistently exceed the speed limit who pose the greatest risk to life that the CSW team are trying to help make more aware of their speed and the potential consequences.

In recent weeks a couple of motorists have stopped and asked the CSW team what they are trying to achieve and why they operate where they do. So again it’s worth making clear the only reason CSW teams operate is because speeding continues.

The CSW team are unpaid village residents who volunteer their time freely in the hope of making these errant drivers be more conscious of their speed and adhere to the speed limit for the safety of everyone. Each volunteer is approved by Warwickshire Police and there are strict operational guidelines that are followed; including the number of volunteers that are required for each speed monitoring event, which is between 3 – 5. Each of the locations used has also been specifically determined by the Police with Google Map photographs showing exactly where the team must operate. As a result of this the Police can track the speeding data and take the necessary action; including visiting persistent speeders wherever in the Country they may live. The CSW team derive no pleasure out of monitoring vehicle speeds; the hope is that by being seen frequently, motorists become more conscious of their speed and drive accordingly.

The area around the Primary School in the village is the most worrying and action has been taken to look at all options to make this safer for children and parents to be able to walk to school and cross the road. More details of our proposed School Safety Zone along with other permanent traffic calming measures for the village will be announced very soon.

In the meantime the CSW team are doing a great job and would like to recruit more volunteers. If you can spare an hour or so a month and would like to join the CSW team or have any views on the speeding situation, please let us know by email to: br****************@*****ok.com. Your support and feedback would be most welcome.