The Driving Force driving school in Coventry was shocked to hear of a recent study that has found that trees are just as effective as speed cameras when it comes to slowing traffic down. Apparently an avenue of trees or hedges can have a profound impact on motorist's behaviour, slowing them down considerably in the same manner as a speed camera.
The experiment at four villages showed that drivers lowered their speed because of the reduction in their peripheral vision.
The study found that there was a 20% drop in motorists driving between 40mph and 60mph, with average speeds falling by 1.5% across the four villages of Overstrand, Martham, Coltishall and Mundesley.
The study also claimed that trees were the most suitable traffic calming method in the countryside as they reduced speeding and softened the landscape.
Road Safety Minister Mike Penning commented "The success of Norfolk’s road side tree planting scheme proves that it is possible to use imaginative solutions to cut speeding on rural roads leading into villages rather than just resorting to cameras.
"I hope that other councils will be inspired by the success of this scheme and consider whether they might be able to use similar programmes to reduce road casualties on their rural roads."