Reckless drivers revealed in Rastrick students’ investigation

A group of Year 10 Student Leaders from Rastrick High School raised ongoing concerns about the speed of traffic and the difficulties crossing Thornhill Road and Castle Avenue.

Along with Neighbourhood Team they devised and carried out a monitoring exercise over five consecutive days.

The project began in November 2013 when students contacted Calderdale Council because they felt it was too dangerous and they were at risk of being run over by oncoming traffic.

Over the monitoring week, they recorded the speeds of the traffic on a standard morning and evening and also recorded how many pedestrians used both roads.

They found that 5,593 cars travelled on these roads during the five days and found 841 were driving over the speed limit. They also witnessed drivers trying to overtake other cars, almost hitting a group of students over who were waiting to cross.

As well as this, a Land Rover almost hit one of the monitoring team working that day. Consequently, pedestrians on the pavement had to move out of the way whilst drivers mounted the curb to get past a queue of cars waiting to turn the other way.

Senior Student Leader, Dominic Clough said: “We all thought this was a worthwhile project and wanted to use our leadership skills to make a difference.

“The project gave us a chance to tackle a problem and try and make a difference. We have all gained skills which will be most definitely used in later life.”

Improvements have been made and the community is now being urged to carry on the campaign to improve road safety.

“Our main aim was to make the road safer for pedestrians so there was less likelihood of someone getting injured in a car accident,” added Dominic. “We feel we have done what we possible could so all that is left is for the local community to take action.”