THE success of community-led speed watches - which resulted in multiple groups being set up in Barnsley in 2025 - will be ramped up to continue the crack down against speeding motorists.
Volunteers, supported by officers, use handheld devices to monitor vehicles and report speeding offenders to the police who then send warning letters, aiming to educate drivers, reduce speeds and improve road safety in their communities through awareness rather than immediate enforcement.
Repeat offenders can be prosecuted, but the first step is to raise awareness of drivers’ speeds and warn the perpetrators.
A total of 189 volunteers have signed up to schemes in their local area, with 229 locations receiving attention, a latest progress report shows.
More than 4,000 offences were processed in 2025, with most common offences including speeding, red light violations, mobile phone use and too-close passes on cyclists.
Of the 4,192 cases, 1,483 were prosecuted due to the case’s severity, while the rest were dealt with via warning letters and courses.
The report said: “Officers continue to innovate with prevention activities and through an enhanced partnership and we are hopeful that
the impact will be greater moving forward.
“Resources will take static positions to influence a large number of
drivers and achieve behavioural change, with thematic
enforcement and proactive promotion of activity on social media.
“This is proven to work with regular static speed enforcement sites.
“In line with our ongoing commitment to reducing death and serious injury on our roads, we remain extremely proactive in releasing both stories of preventative efforts through ongoing operations and convictions.
“Our casualty reduction plan is delivered by roads policing officers working alongside local neighbourhood policing teams.
“So, we often see local priorities being discussed in community meetings and run joint operations to tackle these issues.
“Engaging the public and building confidence is key to this.”
Given the amount of young motorists - aged between 17 and 24 - being seen at speed watches, Barnsley Council’s ‘Don’t Drive Daft’ campaign was launched to help improve road safety.
In 2023, 84 17 to 24-year-olds were a casualty in a road traffic collision in Barnsley with 31 of these killed or seriously injured.
Councillor James Higginbottom, cabinet spokesperson for environment and highways, added: “Road safety is everyone’s responsibility, which is why campaigns are important to draw attention to dangerous behaviours on our roads.
“We all want Barnsley’s roads to be safer for everyone who uses them, and we hope that the campaign, alongside our wider road safety schemes, will contribute to a reduction in those killed or seriously injured on our roads.”
