Government admits ignorance

Doesn't know how many crashes are speed-related

By PH Staff / Thursday, 13 October 2005 / Loading comments

Excessive speed?

In response to a request from Safe Speed under the Freedom of Information Act, the Department for Transport has admitted that it doesn't know what proportion of crashes are caused or contributed to by 'speeding'. It doesn't even have a working estimate.

The problem arises because:

"Excessive speed" as recorded on accident report forms fails to distinguish between speed-in-excess-of-a-speed-limit and inappropriate-speed-for-the- conditions. Sample data from Durham, Avon and Somerset and Canada suggests that 70 per cent of 'excessive speed' crashes don't involve exceeding a speed limit.
Where a crash results from high speeds, it is commonplace for there to be some very untypical and reckless behaviour behind both the speed and the crash. For example when a joyrider in a stolen car crashes in town at high speed, clearly this dangerous behaviour is fundamentally different from an otherwise responsible motorist a few miles per hour over the speed limit on the bypass.

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign, said: "Despite 13 years of speed cameras on British roads, the DfT can't even give us basic supporting information. The speed camera programme isn't based on science or understanding, instead it's based upon ill considered opinion, false assumptions and vested interest. Over 12 million responsible motorists have been convicted for nothing. The roads aren't getting safer, drivers are getting worse and speed cameras are far greater in distraction than in benefit.

"Our best working estimate for the proportion of crashes caused or contributed to by 'normal responsible motorists' driving in excess of a speed limit is under 2 per cent of crashes. The contrasts very remarkably with official figures showing that 60 per cent of vehicles are speeding at sample sites on most road types.

"It is outrageous and unacceptable to implement a major national road safety policy without a solid scientific foundation, yet here we are, 13 years on and they still don't have basic data.

"The DfT reply to our request is pure waffle. No answers are given to the questions asked."

www.safespeed.org.uk