Derbyshire Constabulary says ‘no need to speed’, in support of Brake’s Road Safety Week

Road Safety Week is taking place between 16-22 November, with the theme this year focusing on tackling speeding on our roads.

Speeding is one of the biggest contributors to fatal road collisions, with someone injured on UK roads every four minutes. In a crash, 1mph can mean the difference between life and death, but we know that people still regularly break speed limits or travel too fast for the conditions of the road.

Throughout this week, our Roads Policing Unit, Casualty Reduction Enforcement Support Team and the local Safer Neighbourhood Team will be out across the county, targeting routes with high harm statistics where, sadly, individuals have either been killed or seriously injured due to speeding offences. We will also be focusing our efforts on areas across Derbyshire which receive continual community speeding complaints.

Sergeant Scott Riley, leading Derbyshire Constabulary’s 'Operation Brake', said: "The operation will enforce and educate offending drivers, who are causing harm to our communities and placing lives at risk through the excessive use of speed.

"Each day, road collisions cause devastation to victims, families and communities across Derbyshire. Speed is always a factor in the severity of an incident and normally each crash could have easily been prevented."

Driving is unpredictable and if something unexpected happens on the road ahead – such as a child stepping out from between parked cars – it is a driver’s speed that will determine whether they can stop in time and, if they can’t stop, how hard they will hit.

A vehicle travelling at 20mph would stop in time to avoid a child running out three car-lengths in front. The same vehicle travelling at 25mph would not be able to stop in time, and would hit the child at 18mph. This is roughly the same impact as a child falling from an upstairs window.

The greater the impact speed, the greater the chance of death. A pedestrian hit at 30mph has a very significant (one in five) chance of being killed. This rises significantly to a one in three chance if they are hit at 35mph. Even small increases in speed can lead to an increase in impact severity.

Hardyal Dhindsa, Derbyshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: "Road safety and the problems associated with speeding vehicles was the top priority for residents across the county during my county-wide consultation tour of every town and village. That’s why I have provided funding for numerous Community Speedwatch schemes and to strengthen the Roads Policing Team. 

"Sadly, speeding is one of the key causes of serious road accidents. These horrific incidents lead to unimaginable grief for those affected and the tragedy is that they can often be avoided, or the severity lessened, if people simply slowed down. We are doing a lot to educate motorists and to enforce the law, but I know that there is more to be done. I’m proud of the achievements to date and look forward to seeing the results from the increased work by the police and partners such as Brake to promote road safety."

Road Safety Week is coordinated by the charity Brake and is supported by funding from the Department for Transport. The 'No Need to Speed' initiative is a reminder to everyone that every time we’re on the road, we need to consider what speed is appropriate to keep ourselves and others safe. The higher the speed, the longer the stopping distance, the harder the crash and the greater the risk of death and injury.