Information

Speed

No one wants to be responsible for a death or injury, yet three people die on the roads in Thames Valley every week.

A third of deaths on the road are caused in part by excessive speed. It is very simple - the greater the speed at impact, the more damage you will do; to yourself, your vehicle and others.

Through reducing your speed by 1 mph, the likelihood of you being involved in a serious crash falls by 7%. When the unexpected occurs, a slower speed gives you a couple of extra moments to avoid or lessen the impact. Driving at or below the speed limit helps to protect yourself and other road users, remember:

If you hit a child when driving at:

40mph, you will probably kill the child
30mph, the child has an 80% chance of survival
20mph, the child is likely to survive with minor injuries.

For a graphic portrayal of the difference that these speeds can make see the Think! road safety advert below:

Dr John Black, a consultant working in the Emergency department described for us something of the effect speed has on a crash victim:

“Speed is frequently a major factor contributing to accidents. If you crash at speed, and your car doesn’t burst into flames, you may still be left with major chest, pelvis, head or leg injuries. You may spend weeks or months in hospital and suffer a lifelong disability, but these collisions need never have happened at all.”

Why are safety cameras being used?

Safety cameras have been a controversial issue, but evidence shows that they are saving lives by reducing the number and severity of road collisions. By reducing speeds at “accident black spots”, speed enforcement makes travelling safer for all road users.

Thames Valley has over 300 fixed camera sites. Around 90% of these are on 30 or 40mph roads. Collisions at camera sites have fallen by 35% nationally and by up to 43% at sites in Thames Valley.

The partnership receive hundreds of requests each year from local communities who want cameras on their roads. The British Crime Survey results show that speeding traffic is what respondents rated as the anti-social behaviour that caused them most concern.

New fixed safety cameras are installed in places where people have been killed or seriously injured in four or more road traffic crashes in a three year period. Mobile Safety Camera Vans only operate where people have been killed or seriously hurt in two or more traffic collisions; and only then when all the other strict guidelines, laid down by government, have been met.