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29
June 2006
It's 30mph for a reason
The Partnership is supporting the Department for Transport’s
(DfT) ongoing ‘It’s 30mph for a reason’
speeding campaign which aims to make road users think logically
about why speed limits are there - particularly the 30mph
limit - and the potentially fatal consequences of not
abiding by them.
The campaign will once more run with the television advert
featuring an eight year old girl talking directly to the audience
and illustrating in a highly visual way the differences between
hitting her whilst driving at 40mph versus hitting her at 30mph.
The statistic has been taken from a DfT report and allows for
the difference between hitting a child at 30mph and 40mph versus
hitting an adult.
The campaign has been developed to counteract the widespread
public perception that speeding is acceptable. Analysis of casualty
statistics in Great Britain has shown excessive speed to be
a contributory factor in 12% of all injury crashes, 18% where
there is a serious injury and 28% of all collisions which result
in a fatality.
Drivers are still distinguishing between 'ordinary, safe speeding
drivers' and 'dangerous speeding drivers' - of course
the reality is that any type of speeding is illegal and potentially
dangerous.
Despite all the warnings some people still seem to approve
of speeding - many think they can handle it, it is necessary
and some even enjoy it. In another DfT study driving at 40mph
in a 30mph zone was seen as more acceptable than dropping litter.
Rachel Moon Communications Manager for the Partnership said:
“We fully support the ‘It’s 30mph
for a reason’ campaign. It is extremely
important that the public realise that the majority of crashes
occur in 30mph or 40mph zones and that there is no such thing
as ‘safe speeding’. We want road users to really
think about the speed they choose to travel at and that you
are more likely to kill a pedestrian driving at 40mph than 30mph.”
All material can be seen on the DfT website.
Television advertising activity will run from Monday 3 July
to Sunday 6 August:
Useful statistics
Attitudes to speeding:
* 84% of people disapprove of speeding yet 69% do it.
* Over 70% of drivers in one study admitted to speeding (Stradling)
and in other studies (Webster & Wells) the figure was 85%.
* TNS Survey results show what we really think of our other
half's driving - and many of us are scared and angered when
our partners speed.
* The study reveals that among passengers over 60% believe that
driving too fast increases the chances that their partner will
crash. And emotions run high:
* 24% have felt angered by their significant other's speeding,
which they think is 'irresponsible and stupid'.
* 20% are scared, and concerned that they and the driver could
be killed or injured.
* 14% worried about the safety of other road users.
* 25% admit to pressing on an imaginary foot brake.
* Only 1% wanted their partners to drive faster.
Key statistics:
* You are more likely to kill a pedestrian driving at 40mph
than 30mph.
* Specifically, if you hit a pedestrian while driving at 20
mph, the pedestrian has a 95% chance of survival.
* If you hit an adult pedestrian while driving at 30mph, the
survival chance is 80%. But if you hit a pedestrian while driving
at 40mph, the pedestrian's chances of dying rises to 90%. (this
lowers to 80% for a child).
General
* Every driver can make a difference just by slowing down a
few miles per hour and observing speed limits.
* Excessive speed is a contributory factor in over 1,000 deaths
and over 38,000 injuries every year.
* You are not as safe as you thought - car drivers and passengers
account for most road deaths.
* Nearly ten people die every day on Britain's roads.
* Two out of three crashes where people are killed or injured
happen on roads where the speed limit is 40mph or less.
* Just over half (58%) of drivers break the
30mph speed limit. (Vehicle Speeds Great Britain).
* The law of physics dictate that the higher
the speed at impact, the more energy must be rapidly absorbed
by hard metal, soft flesh and brittle bone.
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