Cabbies' fury at 20mph bid for Bridport and West Bay (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Cabbies' fury at 20mph bid for Bridport and West Bay

11:38am Thursday 5th November 2009

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CALLS for a blanket 20mph speed limit throughout Bridport and West Bay have been greeted with dismay by local cabbies.

They say the idea is ‘stupid’ and could add to drivers’ frustration, causing even more accidents.

“Most of the time you would be lucky to do 20mph through Bridport,” said one angry taxi driver.

The call to reduce the speed limit throughout the town has come from county councillor Karl Wallace. He is claiming widespread support for the idea, which he put to a meeting of the town council’s highways and transportation sub-committee last week.

Coun Wallace says the enforced slowdown would save lives and help put the brakes on boy racers who have terrorised residents in West Bay in recent years.

He wants the new lower limit on all roads in Bridport – except the main highways like Sea Road – and surrounding areas including Bothenhampton and Walditch.

He says people may not be able to go much faster than 20mph through Bridport during the day time but they certainly can at night.

He added: “Reducing the limit would not only help the environment because people would burn less fuel but it would also cut the accidents and reduce the severity of injuries.

“We would need to ensure it was enforced so we would want someone doing speed checks in different areas every day. That would keep people on their toes.”

Now Coun Wallace says he wants to hear people’s views about his proposal before making it a formal proposition.

This week Bridport taxi drivers were happy to give their views.

“I think it is a completely stupid idea,” said one cabbie, who asked not to be named.

“I don’t believe in people driving around at 40 and 50mph but I am not in favour of reducing it from 30 to 20mph. “All the idiots who drive slower than 30mph now will slow down even more and we’ll get stuck behind them.”

Cabbie Bill McLaughlin celebrates 20 years as a West Dorset taxi driver this month. He was not impressed with the idea.

He said: “On a very bad day you are lucky to do 5mph. A blanket 20mph limit would not make a lot of difference. They already have them in areas where they are needed like outside the two primary schools and at Victoria Grove – I can understand that. But whether imposing it everywhere would would make any difference I am not sure.”

McLaughlin warned that experimenting with traffic flows in Bridport had already cost the taxpayers dear.

“Currently they are putting in new controlled crossing lights – which is the same as we had 16 years ago,” he said.

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