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Half Of Drivers Admit To Overtaking And Speeding On Rural Roads
Tue, 08 Feb 2011

A new study has found that nearly half of all UK drivers are putting their safety at risk by overtaking at "lethal speeds" on single-carriageway rural roads.

Of the 942 drivers surveyed by road safety charity Brake and insurance firm Direct Line, 47 per cent admitted speeding at over 60mph to overtake on country roads at least once in the last twelve months, while just under a quarter (23 per cent) confessed to doing this on a monthly basis.

More worryingly, a further one in eight respondents said they overtook even when they were unable to see what was coming in the other direction.

Brake claims that drivers attitudes on rural roads is down to a false sense of security, with many thinking that driving on such roads is safer than on urban routes.

However, recent figures from the Department for Transport showed that drivers are much more likely to die on a rural road than any other type of road, with speeding and overtaking key factors in causing fatalities.

The DfT also says that the risk of dying in a head-on collision involving two cars travelling at 60mph is around 90 per cent. Even at 50mph, the risk of death is still as high as 65 per cent.

Brake is now calling for the Government to tackle the issue of drivers speeding and overtaking irresponsibly on country roads.

The road safety charity recommends cutting the default speed limit on single carriageway roads to 50mph or lower, and introducing even lower limits on notoriously high-risk sections of road.

Ellen Booth, Brake’s campaigns officer, said: "It’s high time we tackle this irresponsible and downright dangerous love of speed on our roads. Speeding down a country road isn’t the epitome of freedom; it’s the epitome of stupidity."

"Drivers who overtake at speed on country roads aren’t just risking their own lives – they are selfishly endangering their passengers and anyone coming the other way."
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