Author:

ROBIN ROBERTS

Longer days, better weather and the arrival of holidays hold dangers for children, say Brake and Direct Line, who have revealed the extent to which speeding in communities has become ingrained in many people’s regular driving habits, especially young and male drivers.

More than half of young drivers [1] (52%) speed at 35mph+ in 30mph limits at least weekly, compared to 34% of older drivers. Nearly half of male drivers (46%) speed at 35mph+ in 30mph limits at least weekly, compared to 27% of female drivers (full results below).

Brake is warning these speeds make our communities risky places for people, children in particular, to walk and cycle, and is appealing to all drivers to slow down to help families get out and about safely during the holidays and year-round.

Brake and Direct Line are urging drivers to Pledge to not only stay within limits, but slow down to 20mph or below around homes, schools and shops: a life-saving act that helps protect the vulnerable.

Driving just ‘a bit’ faster dramatically increases stopping distances, reducing the chance of being able to stop in time in an emergency (see facts below).

At 20mph, if a child stepped out three car lengths ahead, you should just be able to stop. But at 30mph or faster, you would barely have time to hit the brakes before hitting the child with a significant chance of seriously maiming or killing them.

Safe driving should be part of any company car policy and you can get help in our  company car driving advice pages.