The dangers of speeding on our roads will be the message at the heart of this year’s UK Road Safety Week, taking place 20-26 November 2017.
In the UK, and across the globe, speeding remains a major problem.
Breaking the speed limit or travelling too fast for conditions was recorded (by police at crash scenes) as a contributory factor of 23% of fatal crashes in 2015.
A recent Brake survey found that four in 10 (40%) UK drivers admitted they sometimes drive at 30mph in 20mph zones.
It’s for these reasons that speed will be the theme of Road Safety Week 2017, coordinated by Brake, the road safety charity, and supported by Aviva. The charity is also supporting the United Nations Global Road Safety Week (8-14 May) which focuses on ways to manage speed and prioritise road safety worldwide.
To help raise awareness about the dangers posed by speeding drivers, Brake will be working with campaigners, community groups, road safety professionals, companies and schools, who can register for a free action pack via www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk.
Brake will also be calling on individuals to make the Brake Pledge to stay under speed limits, slow to 20mph by schools, homes and shops, slow right down for bends, brows and bad weather, and speak out for slowing down.
Gary Rae, campaigns director for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “Road Safety Week is an opportunity to bring together individuals, businesses and community organisations to focus, this year, on the deadly menace of speed. We’ve designed this year’s theme to raise awareness of the growing concern of speed on our roads, whether major routes, urban areas, or rural roads. We’ve started pulling together a creative campaign, built around the hashtag #speeddown, which will get everyone thinking about how they drive on our roads.”
