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Three In Four Motorists Ignoring Urban Speed Limit
Thu, 13 May 2010

Nearly three quarters of UK motorists are breaking the speed limit in towns and villages, according to new research.

A study carried out by road safety group Brake found that some 72 per cent of drivers questioned admitted to driving at 35mph or faster in a 30mph zone. Half of these offenders said they exceeded the limit daily or at least once a week.

Brake chief executive Mary Williams OBE said: "There appears to be widespread complacency among drivers who may think they will be able to stop in time if they are just going a few miles over 30, but the physics of speed tells us they won't, and the casualty figures tell us they don't."

"Many of these drivers wouldn't dream of drink or drug driving, but are prepared to risk lives by speeding . There need to be more campaigns that explain to otherwise law-abiding citizens the exponentially damaging effects of increases in speed."

According to the charity, eight people under the age of 19 are killed or seriously injured on foot or on bicycles each day in Britain.

Brake is now calling on the government to lower the default urban limit to 20mph – the same limit which is used in countries with significantly lower child pedestrian death rates, such as The Netherlands.

Ms Williams added: "There is no safe speed at which you can hit someone on foot – a car can cause death or serious injury at any speed."

"However, by driving slowly in communities we stand a much greater chance of stopping in time. As a driver's speed rises, their stopping distances rise much quicker; stopping distances treble between 20mph and 40mph."
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