Safe Driving for Work - Ten Tips to Stay Within the Speed Limit
Drivers who travel at higher speeds have less time to
identify and react to what is happening around them. It takes them longer to
stop. And if there is a crash, it is more severe, causing greater injury to the
occupants and any pedestrian or rider they hit.
Excessive speed contributes to 28% of collisions in
which someone is killed, 18% of crashes resulting in a serious injury and 12% of
all injury collisions. This means that around 1,000 people are killed each year
on Britain's roads because drivers and riders travel too fast, and over 6,000
are seriously injured.
Approximately two-thirds of all crashes in which people
are killed or injured happen on roads with a speed limit of 30 mph or less. At
35 mph a driver is twice as likely to kill someone as they are at 30 mph.
Drivers are responsible for the speeds at which they
choose to drive, but there are some simple and practical things drivers who find
it difficult to stay with speed limits can do to help themselves.
1. Check your speedometer regularly, especially when leaving high speed roads
Modern cars are so powerful and comfortable they give
drivers little sensation of their speed, so many drivers find themselves
exceeding the speed limit without realising it.
This is particularly true when coming onto a lower speed
road after driving on a high speed road for a long period. It can often feel
like you are moving at a snail's pace when you reduce your speed to 40 mph or 30
mph after coming off a motorway or dual carriageway. In reality, 30 mph and 40
mph are still very substantial speeds and a pedestrian hit at those speeds will
be seriously injured, and quite likely killed.
It is misleading to rely on a 'feeling' of speed. The
only way to be sure of your speed, and to check you have reduced to an
appropriate speed (even if it 'feels' slow) is to check the car's speedometer
regularly. Although you should never rely on 'feeling' your speed, you may be
able to improve your judgement of it by regularly comparing how fast you think
you are driving with what the speedometer says.
2. Know the limits – look for signs, especially at
junctions
You need to know the speed limit of the roads you are
using. Far too many drivers who have been caught speeding, complain that they
thought the road had a higher speed limit (40 mph instead of 30 mph).
In many cases, the nature of the road does not indicate
the speed limit. In urban areas, for example, dual carriageways can have limits
of 30 mph, 40 mph, 50 mph, 60 mph or 70 mph.
Speed limit signs tend to be placed at junctions because
this is often the point at which the limit changes. However, junctions are also
where you need to absorb a wide range of different information and it is easy to
miss a speed limit sign when concentrating on one or more other things (e.g.,
which way am I going, is that driver going to pull out, etc). So you need to get
into the habit of checking for speed limit signs at junctions, and looking for
repeater signs after the junction, especially if the nature of the road has
changed.
If you are not sure, assume the limit is lower until you
see a sign.
3. Assume lamp posts mean 30 mph, until signs say
otherwise, but remember it could be 20 mph
When driving on built-up roads, assume the limit is 30
mph until you see a sign saying otherwise. But, remember the limit could be
lower – 20 mph.
The law does not allow highway authorities to put
repeater speed limit signs on 30 mph roads that have street lights. This is
because putting repeater signs on all such roads would require hundreds of
thousands of extra signs.Instead the Highway Code advises that street lights
usually mean the limit is 30 mph unless there are signs showing otherwise.
4. Remember, speed limits are a maximum, not a target
Speed limits set the maximum speed for that road.
However, there are many circumstances when it is not safe to drive at that
speed. Examples of situations where drivers should drive at lower speeds than
the limits are:
Around schools at opening and closing times
When children are about (especially residential areas, near playgrounds or parks)
On busy, narrow roads
Where parked vehicles reduce the width of the road
On rural roads which are narrow, bendy and hilly and visibility is restricted
In poor weather or reduced visibility
On wet, icy or snowy roads
At roadworks.
5. 20's plenty when kids are about – and may even be too
fast
Children's awareness of the dangers of traffic is much
lower than that of adults'. Many cannot judge how fast cars are moving nor how
far away they are. As we all know, children are more easily distracted and they
are likely to do things, such as dash into the road after a ball, that adults
would not dream of doing.
As adults who have been trained and licensed to drive
cars in an environment that children also use, it is our responsibility to drive
in a way that enables us to cope with mistakes and misjudgements made by
children.
One of the most effective ways we can ensure that a
child who dashes into the road or who makes a mistake while cycling does not pay
for that mistake with their life, is to drive slower when children are, or may
be, about.
6. Try no higher than third gear in a 30 mph limit
It is easier to notice if you are creeping above 30 mph
when travelling in third gear, and this can act as a warning to reduce your
speed.
Drivers should, of course, choose the appropriate gear
for their speed and the road, weather and traffic circumstances, and change gear
as those circumstances change. The most appropriate gear to use when driving at
30 mph will depend on your engine size, but in many modern cars it is possible
to drive at 30 mph in third gear without making the engine labour.
If you struggle to keep your car within 30 mph when
driving in a 30 mph zone, try driving in third gear (or lower when necessary).
If you can comfortably travel at 30 mph in third gear without feeling that the
engine is laboured, adopt 'no higher than third in 30 mph as a principle.
Automatic cars normally have several forward gears, so
the driver should choose the gear which makes it easiest to keep the vehicle
under 30 mph.
7. Recognise what makes you speed - keeping up with
traffic, overtaking or being tailgated
We all have our 'speed triggers' – things that make us
more likely to speed up and perhaps exceed the limit unintentionally. This could
be feeling pressurised into keeping up with other drivers, or feeling stressed
by a driver too close behind. Being tempted to overtake a vehicle in front may
also mean exceeding the limit to complete the manoeuvre.
Distractions, such as listening to loud music, often
result in speeding. It could be something a simple as going down hill.
Learning to recognise your own 'speed triggers' will
make it easier to avoid being 'pushed' into speeding. It will also make driving
less stressful and more relaxing.
Keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front will also help to reduce your
stress levels when driving. Use the 2-Second Rule: leave at least a two second
gap between you and the vehicle in front. Double this distance on wet roads and
increase it even further on icy roads.
8. Concentrate – distracted drivers speed
Although it is a familiar everyday task, driving is
actually a very complex thing. Trying to do something else (use a mobile phone,
light a cigarette, unwrap a sweet) at the same time, is distracting. Listening
to music with the volume too high can encourage drivers to speed up. Distracted
drivers find it much more difficult to maintain their awareness of what's
happening on the road around them, and are more likely to speed. Using a mobile
phone while driving is a classic example of this.
The law requires drivers to be in proper control of
their vehicle at all times, and drivers who, for example, smoke or eat while
driving could be prosecuted under this law. There is also a specific law banning
the use of hand-held mobile phones, or other communication devices, while
driving.
9. Slow down when entering villages
Villages are in rural areas and normally surrounded by
roads with 60 mph limits. But, of course, in the village itself there are
pedestrians, cyclists, junctions, slow-moving vehicles.
The speed limit will normally be reduced as you approach
a village. It may be reduced gradually from 60 mph to 50 mph or 40 mph as you
approach the village and then go down to 30 as you enter the village, or it may
go straight down from 60 mph to 30 mph through a village. Begin to slow down as
you see the speed limit sign ahead so that you have already reduced your speed
to 30 mph by the time reach the speed limit sign.
It may feel like you are only crawling through the
village, especially if you have been driving at 60 mph for while, but at 30 mph
you are still covering 44 feet (about three car lengths) every second, and if
you hit a pedestrian at that speed, he or she will be severely injured, and
possibly killed. Even if it 'feels' too slow, do not exceed the limit. Check
your speedometer regularly.
10. Give yourself time – there's no need to speed and
you won't get there quicker
Exceeding the speed limit makes little difference to
your arrival time. The time it takes to complete a journey is determined much
more by your average speed during the whole journey, rather than the maximum
speed you achieve for part of it. This is especially true in urban areas, where
you constantly have to slow down for junctions, traffic lights and other road
users.
The faster you drive, the sharper you have to brake.
This also uses much more fuel and so makes driving more expensive.
Knowing that you have plenty of time to complete your
journey will help you to relax and avoid the temptation to push your speed.
I confirm I have read the factsheet 'Ten Tips to Stay
Within the Speed Limit'.
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