A project was set up on the A56 - Whitefield, attempting to slow motorists down. Four 5' x 2' banner flags have been erected on street lighting columns, reminding drivers of the 30mph speed limit.

A traffic speed counter was put down on this stretch of road one week prior to the four flags going up and they will remain there for the time the flags are in place. This will allow for the actual effect of the flags to be monitored. If there is a strong improvement in the average speed during the time the banners are in place, DRIVESAFE have promised to have more flags made, which will hopefully then be seen right throughout Greater Manchester.

Councillors, Police and members of the DRIVESAFE Partnership chose this location due to the numbers of vehicles known to be travelling on this stretch of road at high speeds.

Mike Downes, Project Manager for DRIVESAFE states; 'We at DRIVESAFE don't think motorists intentionally use inappropriate speeds. We recognise how easy it is for experienced drivers to go into autopilot and just go with the flow of traffic, rather than making a conscious decision to stick to the limit. We just hope that these flags will act as a reminder to passing motorists to check their speed and slow down if necessary.

Chief Inspector Haydn Roberts of Greater Manchester Police claims; 'We feel that this location is ideal for this type of project. Very often, speeding issues relate to driver's not recognising the posted speed limit, especially on long, straight, wide roads, such as this. Drivers should always assume, that if there is street lighting, unless there are regular repeater signs showing a different speed, a 30 limit would be in place. These banners should be very effective in acting as a secondary reminder.

Councillor John Byrne, Bury MBC's executive member for Environment and Transport states; 'We at Bury are delighted that we could work with DRIVESAFE with what we hope will be the start of an effective project. We at the council are always looking for new and effective ways of making Bury's roads safer and I am looking forward to seeing the results at the end of the 6-week scheme.