HOW SPEED KILLS ON BRITAIN'S ROADS

On an average day 15 people die on Britain's roads, made up of six car occupants, five pedestrians, three motorcyclists and one pedal cyclist. Figures are given for injuries caused by road accidents and the chances of being involved in such an accident are discussed. Described as being of 'epidemic proportions' by the Transport Committee of the House of Commons the figures compare unfavourably with the rest of Europe. Several recommendations were made by the committee, but their suggested increase in the motorway speed limit to 80 mph goes against the evidence that speed kills. Figures are given for the numbers of accidents occurring on roads with various speed limits showing pedestrians to be particularly at risk. Three methods of making cars travel more slowly are outlined: the enforcement of present speed limits, the design of vehicles to obey speed limits and the design of roads to reduce speed. The European concept of 'woonerven' is described and compared favourably with the British road hump. (TRRL)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/02624079
• Corporate Authors:

  IPC Magazine Limited

  King's Reach Tower, Stamford Street
  London SE1 9LS,   England 
• Authors:
  • HAMER, M
• Publication Date: 1985-2

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 10-11
• Serial:
  • NEW SCIENTIST
  • Volume: 105
  • Issue Number: 1444
  • Publisher: REED BUSINESS INFORMATION LTD
  • ISSN: 0262-4079

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: City planning; Crash rates; Crashes; Fatalities; Federal government; Highway design; Injuries; Law enforcement; Neighborhoods; Pedestrians; Prevention; Roads; Safety; Speed; Speed control humps; Speed limits; Statistics; Traffic crashes; Vehicle design
• Uncontrolled Terms: Decreases
• Geographic Terms: Netherlands; United Kingdom
• Old TRIS Terms: Woonerven concept
• ITRD Terms: 1643: Accident; 1661: Accident prevention; 1612: Accident rate; 9009: Decrease; 1534: Enforcement (law); 183: Government (national); 2755: Highway; 8078: Netherlands; 1733: Pedestrian; 551: Road stud; 5408: Speed; 624: Speed limit; 8119: United Kingdom
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Design; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00396978
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 25 2004 2:39AM