| Road | Direction VAS pointing | Date | No of days | Mean speed mph | 85th percentile mph | Annual average daily traffic |
| A56 | Earby (by stocks) | 21 April to 5 May | 14 | 25.9 | 29.7 | 4105 |
| Church Rd | Barnoldswick | 5 to 19 May | 14 | 30.8 | 36.5 | 4360 |
| A56 | Skipton (by stocks) | 2 to 9 June | 7 | 25.9 | 31.4 | 6623 |
| Church Rd | Village | 9 to 27 June | 18 | 28.7 | 33.4 | 2965 |
| A56 | Earby (by stocks) | 27 June to 13 July | 16 | 25.8 | 29.6 | 4169 |
| Church Rd | Barnoldswick | 13 July to 6 Aug | 24 | 30.3 | 35.6 | 2957 |
| A56 | Earby (by Bells Farm) | 6 Aug to 20 Aug | 14 | 26.7 | 32.0 | 7302 |
| Church Rd | Barnoldswick | 20 Aug to 21 Sept | 32 | 30.0 | 35.1 | 2900 |
| A56 | Earby (by Bells Farm) | 21 Sept to 25 Oct | 34 | 26.6 | 32.2 | 6635 |
| Church Rd | Barnoldswick | 25 Oct to 11 Nov | 17 | 30.1 | 35.2 | 2872 |
| A56 | Earby (by Bells Farm) | 11 Nov to 30 Nov | 19 | 26.2 | 31.6 | 6666 |
| A56 | Skipton (by stocks) | 30 Nov to 22 Dec | 22 | 25.2 | 30.0 | 6638 |
| A56 | Earby (by Bells Farm) | 22 Dec to 6 Feb | 45 | 26.6 | 32.0 | 5871 |
| Church Rd | Barnoldswick | 6 Feb to 24 Feb | 17 | 30.7 | 36.2 | 2650 |
| A56 | Skipton (by stocks) | 24 Feb to 21 Mar | 25 | 25.8 | 31.0 | 6748 |
The Parish Council purchased a new speed sign (Vehicle Activated Sign or VAS) in 2021 and is either located on a street light column on Church Rd or the A56 main road. The sign is set to flash when vehicles are detected approaching at or above 31mph.
The key benefit of this new VAS is that it also records all vehicle speeds which can be downloaded and analysed. It is always on and will not run out of power, as it is connected to the street light mains supply.
The advice from Department of Transport is to use the mean 85th percentile speeds, when considering speed implications.
Mean (average) speed provides a good overall indication of the speed environment, but it does not give a good indication of how many drivers may be exceeding the legal speed limit by a significant amount.
85th percentile speed helps to show this by indicating the speed not exceeded by 85% of the traffic surveyed, and hence is the level exceeded by the other 15%.
Thresholds above which vehicle speeds are regarded as “high” in a 30mph speed limit are mean >30mph and 85th percentile >35mph.
The table above shows that A56 main road speed data are below these thresholds whereas the Church Rd speed data are above. This information has been sent to the traffic bureau, however enforcement is not automatic as they also consider road traffic collisions.
We consider that the VAS has improved speed awareness and has hopefully changed the habits of some drivers.