Drivers admit ‘lethal’ rural speeds
Tuesday 1st February 2011, 4:07PM GMT.
Almost half of drivers have overtaken at “lethal” speeds on single carriageway country roads at least once in the past year, according to a survey.
Research into 942 drivers conducted at the end of last year has shown 47 per cent admitted speeding at more than 60 miles per hour to overtake on rural roads at least once in the past year.
The research for road safety charity Brake and Direct Line insurance showed 23 per cent admitted doing this at least once a month. The results have prompted Brake to renew calls for the Government to tackle drivers who overtake irresponsibly and speed on rural roads.
It said the Government could do this by reducing the default speed limit on single carriageway roads to 50mph or lower, with lower limits on roads with particular risks. It has also called for an awareness campaign on speeding and overtaking on rural roads.
The charity said Government figures show drivers are much more likely to die on a rural road than any other type, with speed and overtaking major factors in causing deaths.
Ellen Booth, Brake campaigns officer, said: “It’s high time we tackle this irresponsible and downright dangerous love of speed on our roads.
“Speeding down a country road isn’t the epitome of freedom – it’s the epitome of stupidity.”
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Living in rural Wales one of the most common causes of accidents and near misses is drivers who drive at 20-40 miles an hour on rural roads which are at the national speed limit (60 mph)and can be driven quite safely at 50 to 60mph. Yet when these drivers reach a village which often has a better line of site or has street lighting they then SPEED UP! – usually going way over the 30 or 40mph speed limit by 10 or 20 miles. Not only are they more likely to hit a pedestrian in these villages, but they also cause accidents when a driver tries to overtake on the rural roads (not villages) where the limit is 60mph.
The argument that you shouldn’t overtake these slow drivers on a rural road doesn’t take into account the long distances and journey times on rural roads here in Wales. An hour long journey at normal legal speeds will become a two hour journey when stuck behind one of these slow drivers.
Yes ensure excess speeds are penalised, but at the same time ensure people who aren’t capable of driving at normal speeds (and then speed in villages) stay off the road. At least tractors and most lorries pull over into lay-by’s to let traffic behind them pass.
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