Watch for Speed Watch in Sooke

Volunteers Ali Thornton (left) and Jeff Haisell (right) record the speeds of late arrivals in front of Journey Middle School this morning.
Speed Watch was out this morning gauging traffic speeds in school zones this morning in Sooke. Speed Watch in Sooke is a volunteer-run program, and this morning volunteers Ali Thornton and Jeff Haisell were posted outside of Journey Middle School, noting the speeds of the latecomers as they came rushing in.
Pictured here is the Speed Watch sign alerting the driver doing 47 in a 30 zone. The speed flash before the camera clicked was 51, so that driver—while significantly above the speed limit—at least was in the process of slowing down.
According to DriveSmartBC.ca, “Speed Watch uses a portable radar mounted on a display that is placed beside the road in places that are suggested by the public or the police. Drivers passing through the beam are shown their speed in large numbers on a reader board in the hope that if they are speeding, they will slow down to the posted limit. A tally of the speeds shown are kept by the operators to establish whether high speeds are common at the site.”

A separate safety initiative to leave the phone alone if you are driving. -photos by Britt Santowski
Police may use the data to plan enforcement action. Haisell made the point that on occasion, an RCMP officer may be stationed somewhere behind the flashing sign, so ignoring the warning signals from Speed Watch (never mind the three speed signs before their station) can become expensive.
Speeding in a school zone can cost you anywhere from $196 to $253 according to ICBC, along with three demerit points.
Thornton mentioned that Speed Watch is currently looking for volunteers. The program is administered through the Sooke RCMP, and it begins by dropping by their office and completing an application form.
-Britt Santowski
We have been trying to get them out on Golledge in the afternoons for 8 months alas no luck
This would be a great idea for Rhodonite Drive near the Townsend road. People like to think it is ok to do 50, 60 70km an hour here and there are a lot of kids in the area with a lot of parked cars on the road causing a bottle-neck and the blind summit of Rhodonite.
could use this in the playgrounds in sunriver, the drivers are relentless, probably why kids dont play there
Townsend needs this, but police need to step up to , the speeds are dangerous no respect for the people walking at all