The figure, dressed as a police officer holding a speed gun, is credited with a big fall in the number of speeding cars in Middleton-in-Teesdale, by her owner. Nancy stands in the garden of Stella Anderson's home, in Laneside, where there is a 30mph limit. "It is just a little bit of fun but she certainly seems to have slowed down the speeders," Mrs Anderson said.

The scarecrow has become the talk of the village - but not everyone is happy with her law-enforcing effect and someone recently decapitated her. However, Nancy returned to duty as soon as her straw-stuffed head was back in place. She has even received plaudits from the leader of Durham County Council, whose official driver pulled over for a better look.

Durham Police has accepted the funny side of the new recruit, but has also warned Mrs Anderson she could be in trouble with the law if PC Nancy causes an accident. "The police have never approached us about it, but if they were not happy I would take her down," Mrs Anderson said.

More @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3534878.stm

Bike Week grows by 55 per cent
This year's Bike Week (12-20 June), which included the annual Bike2Work promotion, attracted 55 per cent more participants than in 2003.

According to Nick Harvey, Bike Week national co-ordinator,180,000+ people took part in 1,406 local events run by 926 organisers. There were 1,210 events in England (including 208 in Greater London), 117 in Scotland, 47 in Wales and 26 in Northern Ireland.  

The most popular events were Bike2Work (248), adult/beginners easy rides (166) and charity rides (131), the latter including 48 Bikeathon events to raise funds for Leukaemia Research, Bike Week's national charity partner for 2004 and 2005.  

Overall 95 per cent of events were aimed at new or 'occasional' cyclists, reflecting Bike Week's mission to 'get more people cycling more often'.

Bike Week 2004 was funded by the DfT, Transport for London, the Northern Ireland Department for Regional Development, the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government, plus a £25,000 contribution from the cycle industry's Bike Hub levy fund.

Plans are already underway for next year's Bike Week and Bike2Work promotions. The dates are 11-19 June 2005 and further details will be published at www.bikeweek.org.uk when government and cycle industry funding has been confirmed.

The eight-metre vehicle, painted bright yellow to match the cameras in Sussex, can be set up at shows, exhibitions and fetes to educate drivers about the dangers of speeding and the consequences of their actions.

On visiting the exhibition vehicle, members of the public can find out how speed, mobile and red light running cameras work, talk to SSCP members about road safety and the dangers of high speeds, meet SID (a Speed Indicator Device), and collect leaflets on the importance of sticking to the limit.

The vehicle is also fitted with a video screen that is computer linked to the partnership website, www.sussexsafetycameras.gov.uk .

Emma Rogers, Communications Manager for the SSCP, said: "Education is a key part of the work we do and the exhibition vehicle is an excellent tool for that purpose."

The total cost of the vehicle, including refurbishment and on board equipment, was around £45,000.

For more information contact Emma Rogers on 01273 665669, 07739 437581, or communications@sussexsafetycameras.gov.uk

Essex continues 'drive through' purge
Essex County Council has carried out another prosecution in its ongoing efforts to deter motorists from endangering children at school crossings.

The prosecution took place on 29 July at Witham Magistrates Court in support of John Bates, the school crossing patrol for Woodville Primary School in South Woodham Ferrers.

Mr Bates was in the road stopping traffic when a Ford Focus drove through the crossing, though fortunately all of the children were still at the side of the road. School crossing patrol supervisor Mike Boulter witnessed the incident, the index number of the vehicle was noted and the incident was reported to the police.  

When the case went before magistrates at Witham the motorist denied that her car was involved and said she had never travelled that route. After a deliberation of 45 minutes she was found guilty of failing to stop for a SCP, since, despite her denials, a description of the vehicle and corroboration of the numberplate had been provided by two individuals.

Because she is a single mother on benefits, the driver was given a reduced fine of £75 payable at £5 a week, and her licence was endorsed with three points.

"We are continuing to prove that this sort of thoughtless behaviour simply cannot be tolerated," said Rosemary Welch, Essex County Council's traffic and safety manager. "This case was particularly disturbing since the driver had small children of her own, but had no consideration for the safety of others."

The report concludes the work of the Advisory Group on Motorcycling, which was established in 1999 to consider the role of motorcycling within an integrated transport policy - including important issues such as safety and environmental impact.

The report makes a number of recommendations to government, including:

• a fundamental review of gaining a motorcycle licence under the Direct Access Scheme, which allows faster access to riding bigger bikes
• Rider improvement and speed awareness courses for offending motorcyclists
• a hard hitting advertising campaign to make motorcyclists more aware of dangerous situations, and other road users more aware of motorbikes
• a review of the position concerning motorcycle use of bus lanes
• and the mainstreaming of motorcycling into the transport planning process.

"Motorcyclist deaths rose by 14 per cent in 2003 and this is a challenge we must face up to," David Jamieson said. "The government and the motorcycling community are working together to make biking safer and to take account of the needs of motorcyclists. Motorcycling is an important part of the transport mix and we will consider the report's recommendations closely as we further develop our motorcycling strategy."

Susan Beck, national communications manager for the safety camera scheme in England and Wales, said: "Safety cameras reduce death and serious injury on the roads by up to 40 per cent. The worst kinds of crashes have excessive or inappropriate speed as a major contributing factor.

"Those who speed or drive too fast are twice as likely to be involved in a crash," Susan Beck continued. "Partnerships sign the routes where enforcement is likely and they publish the location of all their cameras on websites, on local radio and in local newspapers.

"The police are active partners in this multi-agency road safety scheme and in some partnerships they are the lead agency. Drivers make a choice when they get behind the wheel of a car and the safe choice is to stick to the speed limit at all times," Ms Beck concluded.

The main findings in National Travel Survey: 2003 Provisional Results include:

• On average, Great Britain residents travelled 6,800 miles in 2003. This was an increase of six per cent over the last 10 years, reflecting a 13 per cent increase in the average length of trip from 6.1 miles to 6.9 miles.
• The average number of trips made in 2003 was 1,000 per person per year, a fall of six per cent in the last 10 years.
• The average time spent travelling around Great Britain has remained at about 360 hours per person per year, or about an hour a day.
• 27 per cent of households in Great Britain did not have access to a car in 2003, compared with 33 per cent 10 years previously.
• The proportion of women holding full car driving licences has increased from 54 to 61 per cent since 1992/1994, while the proportion of men holding licences has remained at 81 per cent. Licence holding among those aged 60-69 rose from 57 to 73 per cent over this period.
• Car travel accounted for four fifths of the total distance travelled. Overall, the distance travelled by car increased by six per cent over the last 10 years.
• The number of walking trips fell by 20 per cent in the last 10 years.
• The number of commuting trips per person per year fell by six per cent in the last 10 years, but the average trip length rose by 14 per cent.
• Since 1992/1994, the proportion of primary-aged children walking to school has declined from 61 to 53 per cent, with an increase from 30 to 39 per cent in the numbers being driven to school. For secondary school pupils there was a similar shift from walking to car use.

The bulletin is available on the transport statistics web site: www.transtat.dft.gov.uk and available in hard copy from Spencer Broadley, Zone 2/15, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR (020 7944 3097), or by e-mail: national.travelsurvey@dft.gov.uk

Hampshire wins road safety award
Hampshire County Council's road safety services have won a European Safety Award for excellence. The council is one of only five cities and local authorities to win such an award.

Presented by POLIS and ACCESS on behalf of the European Commission, the award recognises the council's long standing commitment to developing and implementing transport policies with a high priority placed on casualty reduction.

Partnership working between the authority and other public bodies and employers was key to the award being given, with other areas of note being road safety initiatives such as older driver assessments.

The award was made in tandem with Hampshire's signing of the first European Road Safety Charter, which commits the European community to halving the road fatality toll on the continent's roads by the end of the decade.

For further information contact sarah.worsam@hants.gov.uk.

The DfT stated in its new transport strategy released recently that it was moving away from its 'one size fits all' national targets to quadruple the number of cycling trips from a 1996 baseline by 2012.

It will instead work closely with local authorities to put in place 'sharper, more focused local plans and targets for cycling and walking'.

The target was increasingly seen as unrealistic. Cycling accounts for just 1.5 per cent of total mileage nationally, or 16 cycle journeys per head. The English Regions' Cycling Development Team told the national cycling board earlier this year it could not deliver the four-fold increase.

In recent years zebra crossings have not been widely used but the new policy means they can be considered in rural areas where a controlled crossing, such as a puffin or pelican, is still not justified.

Rob Wheway, CAPT's play safety consultant, will be developing the tool over the next two years in local authorities that are part of the DfT's Neighbourhood Road Safety Initiative.

For further information go to http://www.capt.org.uk/

An Association of British Drivers-led campaign, which branded the lower limits as unnecessary, prompted the county's elected members to opt for a less ambitious programme of four new route based 50mphs. The councillors also set up a task force to come up with a list of criteria all routes have to satisfy before qualifying for a 50mph limit.