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Flashing car number signs set to remain in Walsall

Signs which flash up speeding drivers' registration numbers will remain in use in Walsall after council chiefs agreed to continue funding the technology.

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The pioneering Watchman signs were installed in the borough almost four years ago after funding from the West Midlands Road Safety Partnership.

The council is to continue using the equipment in a bid to slow down motorists along Broadway, Sutton Road and Northgate, Aldridge. It will set the council back almost £5,000 a year.

Four signs worth £60,000 were initially installed four years ago through the partnership as part of measures to reduce accidents and slow down drivers.

They were initially installed along Broadway, in Fullbrook, and in Aldridge before being extended onto Sutton Road, the main route between Walsall and Pheasey, in 2011.

They have been hailed as a success by highways chiefs.

Statistics released last year showed 95 per cent of motorists have been sticking to the limit following their introduction.

Transport chief councillor Tom Ansell said: "The watchman signs were initially funded through the West Midlands Road Safety Partnership.

"The ongoing maintenance and operation of the signs is now the council's responsibility and they will continue to be used in the future with the costs met from existing council budgets for road safety," he added.

The running costs are £1,200 per sign each year.

A sensor placed on a pole detects drivers' speed, and anyone going too fast has their registration number displayed on a sign by the roadside. The signs were hailed as the first of their kind in the Midlands.

The routes they are used on are among the busiest in the borough and are used by thousands of motorists a day.

The council has been taking steps to reduce the speed of motorists over the last few years, with new 30mph zones brought in along the A454 Wolverhampton Road and Sutton Road.

It followed a review of all A and B roads in the borough.

New 20mph restrictions could also be imposed in residential areas across Walsall to slow down traffic amid safety concerns.

A review of speed limits has been launched by highways chiefs which has seen 24 requests for action on roads across the borough in the last three years.

Around £25,000 has been set aside to assess the network and impact of signed 20mph zones and speed limits across the Walsall borough.

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