Hampshire Constabulary is supporting the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s ‘Slow Down, Save Lives’ campaign that launched earlier this week.
Running until 7th June, the campaign aims to remind motorists of the importance of travelling within the speed limit, while promoting greater awareness around the dangers of speeding.
Speeding has been identified as one of the ‘fatal four’ factors that results in fatal or serious injury collisions.
Officers will out and about engaging and reassuring communities across Hampshire about the importance of driving within the speed limits.
PC Liz Johnson, of the Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit, said:
“Research from across Europe suggests speeding is the most significant factor that contributes to road deaths and serious injury.
“Excessive or inappropriate speed has an appalling impact when you’re involved in a collision. The forces experienced by the human body in a collision increase dramatically as the speed increases. If you collide with a pedestrian at 30mph they have an 80% chance of survival, however if you collide at 40mph then the pedestrian only has a 10% chance of survival.
“Our focus on those who endanger lives on our roads is relentless through both enforcement and education with a National Speed Awareness course as an alternative to prosecution. This approach is aimed at improving knowledge and attitudes to influence better behaviour on the roads.
Article continues below this advertisement “It needs to be noted that the speed limit is a limit, not a target – there will be times when you have to drive much slower to stay in control. Drivers can become complacent about roads they are familiar with, causing them to be less alert to the road, and drive at a faster speed.”
Hampshire Constabulary want to remind motorists of the devastating impact speeding can have, not only increasing the risk of a collision but the severity of the impact at higher speeds.
Figures show that on average 17 people are killed and 126 are seriously injured every month in the UK, where speeding is believed to have been a significant factor.
At 30mph, vehicles are travelling at 44 feet or about 3 car lengths each second. Even in good conditions, the difference in stopping distance between 30 mph and 35 mph is an extra 21 feet or 6.4 metres, more than 2 car lengths, this could make all the difference in avoiding a collision. The distance required to stop safely, significantly increased at higher speeds.
PC Liz Johnson continued:
“Please do not speed. It’s not worth the risk, and you will massively reduce the chances of being involved in a collision when an unexpected incident happens.”
Hope this initiative is rolled out on the island. Way too many speeding cars. Boys and girls in their loud, Poppin and bangin ford fiestas and focus’s. The roads are not racetracks so speed limits need to be respected as deaths will become plentiful. Take a look at the idiot 17 yr old who nearly wiped out the poor people at the Yarbridge traffic lights. Needs educating, giving him a fine, a ban and a slap on the wrist won’t work, he’ll be straight out behind the wheel doing it again. If people love their cars and they are true enthusiasts they should respect the speed limits and the rules of the road.
if so many weren’t so incompetent at driving and so many doddery drivers that drive way to slow, were off the roads, then there would also be less accidents.
the roads were being raced on 40 years ago and everyday since – every new traffic copper bangs on about speed, every old git drones on about the young, all the new drivers hit the accelerator and burn a decent amount of rubber – nothing has changed in decades and nor will it ever do.
If some didn’t drive so slowly or so uselessly then there would also be less accidents.
One suggests hidden Police speed cameras and a change in the law providing no warning of such.
These could be linked to a central computer to have the number plates of all speeding traffic instantly fined, reducing costs of having the limited Police stood with a fixed camera.
Then, anyone who steals a car and speeds, needs a ten year minimum jail term, to prevent such finding the joy worth the risk. Even if they still do the crime, at least it will be once a decade not whenever their whim drives them to do such.
A useless publicity campaign and booking a few Islanders breaking the limit whilst going down a steep hill will do NOTHING to stop accidents and injuries, but will just turn even more of the public against the Police.
Catch and really punish the real threats in our lives, NOT the soft, but mostly harmless grey areas of wrong doing.
– methinks a ten year minimum jail term may be a bit much for speeding, old chap/girl.. The system couldn’t possibly cope with so many and they’d emerge as ready to become hardened criminals, to reap revenge on the system. I know I would.
But I liked the rest of your post Weaver; many would agree with you that the public are very unhappy about being targeted by the Police for minor infringements, whereas crimes rarely even get investigated these days .
¶ : – )
– Bring back the old days of the ‘Bobby on the Beat’, I say !
Instead of the useless ‘Drive Throughs’ in Panda cars, the Police might actually engage with the public, get to know the issues and individuals concerned…
the real threat in our lives, is the nanny state, gestapo, that want everyone tagged, monitored and controlled just to sate their own insecurities.
Not a big fan of cyclists, but must say speeding on winding roads will eventually lead to a cyclist being killed. The same also for Horse riders. Who knows whats around the corner of a left hand bend? Idiot drivers need to be taught to anticipate beyond their cars bonnet.
idiot cyclists should remember they do not own the road.
the accelerated promotion for feminists should be slowed down..