Earlier this month, in response to local resident’s concerns the Parish Council debated the speed of cars in our village and what we could do about it. The Parish Council have invested time and equipment in Speed-watch, and the truth is that the drivers speeding in the village more often than not live or work here, and sadly despite everyone’s efforts, they continue to speed through the village and local lanes.
Local drivers are often familiar with roads and complacent about the hazards, they forget they are driving a vehicle weighing about a ton at around two London bus lengths every second! They also forget or may not be aware that, car occupants and motorcyclists are twice as likely to be killed on a country road as an urban road; whilst cyclists are more than three times as likely.
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If a child steps out from the front of a bus at the moment the front of your car is level with the rear of the bus at 30mph, you cannot stop your car in time, it is nothing to do with how good a driver you are, it is just physics! In fact the average driver won’t have reacted in the time available and not even started braking!
A pedestrian hit at 30mph (that’s the speed limit in our village) has a one in five chance of being killed. The likelihood of death rises significantly to a one in three chance if they are hit at 35mph!. Even slower speeds hide dangers; at 20mph with an attentive driver a car should stop in time to avoid a child running out three car-lengths in front. The same vehicle and driver travelling at 25mph would have only slowed to 18mph when it hit the child, that’s about the same impact as the child falling from a first floor window onto concrete.
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If not you can watch it here: youtube.com
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A vehicle’s braking distance depends on how fast it was travelling before the brakes were applied, and is proportional to the square of the initial speed. That means even small increases in speed mean significantly longer braking distances. Braking distances are much longer for larger and heavier vehicles, and in wet or icy conditions.
Technology such as anti-lock brakes and stability control are designed to enable greater control over the vehicle, not shorten stopping distances. There may be a very small reduction in braking distance with modern technology, but not enough to significantly affect the overall stopping distance.
A vehicle’s speed and the attentiveness of the driver determine stopping distances on any roads, however, in a village like ours other factors come into play, and can make speed significantly more dangerous. Often because there is less traffic, drivers feel a false sense of security on country roads, the reality, however, is that they are statistically the most dangerous for all types of road user, accounting for six in 10 fatal crashes.
Watch the video
The video may not be visible in our Email alert version of this post.
If not you can watch it here: youtube.com
Country roads may sometimes appear empty, but they are full of unpredictable hazards. They are used by pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, slow farm vehicles, livestock and wild animals – all of which have a right to be there. They are often narrow with blind corners and bends, pot holes and debris, and no pavements or cycle paths. All these factors mean the 60mph limit on most country roads is usually far too high for safety, giving drivers insufficient time to react in an emergency, despite that country roads are plagued by fast drivers, many of who risk horrific crashes by speeding, taking bends too fast and silly overtaking.
You can help make our village and the surrounding country roads safer by always driving as though someone or something could be round every corner - that means staying well under speed limits, and slowing right down for bends, brows and other hazards, a little thought and a minute or two longer on your journey could save a life.
Drive safely out there!
The THINK! campaign is run by the Department For Transport and provides road safety information for road users. Their aim is to encourage safer behaviour to reduce the number of people killed and injured on our roads every year.
The THINK! campaign is run by the Department For Transport and provides road safety information for road users. Their aim is to encourage safer behaviour to reduce the number of people killed and injured on our roads every year.
You can find out more at their website here: think.direct.gov.uk/country-roads
Councillor Alan Horton on behalf of Upchurch Parish Council
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