Charlie's project highlights Belgooly speeding problem

A BELGOOLY student has highlighted the issue of speeding through his village and is taking his results all the way to next week’s BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in the RDS.

Charlie O’Callaghan (13), a first year student at Bandon Grammar School, undertook the project after he noticed the excessive speed of cars passing through his home village on a daily basis.

Charlie set up a speed monitor in November and over a six-week period he collected and analysed the speed of each vehicle that passed through the village, using sophisticated retro-reflective photo electric sensors and he posted the results on his ‘Belgooly Speed Check’ Facebook page. As well as recording the speeds he also used road signs to draw attention to drivers including one called ‘Kill Your Speed.’

Despite a 50km/h speed limit in the village, on one particular day, with over 1,000 vehicles recorded Charlie, found that 78.61% were over the speed limit. 

On another day, on December 6th, Charlie found that of 5,490 vehicles that passed his speed monitors on that day, 4,782 were travelling above the speed limit.

Charlie’s project was highlighted at a recent meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District, where councillors sought an update on the installation of speed monitors in the village. Council engineer Brendan Fehily confirmed that speed monitors were put up on the speed limit signs on both sides of the village before Christmas and that they would then assess the situation once the results from this survey were collected. Mr Fehily pointed out that speeding on the roads is a garda matter and, if there is a problem, gardaí would usually operate a speed trap.

Cllr Gillian Coughlan (FF) asked if speed alert signs could be erected, but was told by senior executive engineer Charlie McCarthy that, in some cases, these signs work for a few months, but that people ignore them after a while.