SPEED KILLS
AT RISK | one in five of all serious accidents involve drivers under the age of 21 Around 2,000 young drivers are killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads each year. The figure is falling, but is enough being done? Inside Out investigates.
Eleven years ago John Paul was tragically killed in a car accident at the age of 17. He was a passenger in the car of another 17 year old who had only recently passed his test.
Since John's death, another 40,000 people have been killed on Britain's roads - a large percentage of those were young drivers.
John Paul tragically lost his life in a road accident 11 years ago
"Teenagers that are new to driving want to experience what these wonderful motor cars can do," explains PC Alan Rogers of Warwickshire's ASTRA project.
"They do use these country lanes unfortunately to have this experience of speed and they can't cope with it."
A growing concern
It is estimated that as many as one in five of all serious road accidents involve drivers under the age of 21. So in Warwickshire the police are keeping a close eye on their young drivers.
Poorly maintained cars pose a risk in themselves. The addition of speed can have devastating results, as Paul Kerr can testify.
In 1992 Paul lost his 17 year old son in a road accident. He now works alongside PC Alan Rogers on a project called ASTRA, to take his message and his son's story around every school in Warwickshire.
ASTRA targets 16 to 17 year olds and drives home the message through advertising campaigns and Paul's own moving account of his son's tragic death.
Driving the message home
Disturbing images help to drive the message home to pupils The sessions are often emotionally charged.
"We have had students go out because they are too emotionally affected by it," says PC Rogers.
"They go away much better for it because they suddenly appreciate that it can happen. It does happen."
The sessions have the desired affect on pupils. Students and staff are forced to consider what kind of drivers they are, or will become.
"It's really, really shocking," says one pupil. "You don't really realise the magnitude of what can happen through speeding."
Money matters
Another way that young drivers are being targeted is through their wallets.
Eighteen year old Sean Duffy has an insurance quote of £3,000 - a quote that can be reduced through the Pass Plus scheme.
Although Sean has passed his test, he is not ripping up his 'L' plates just yet. Instead, Sean is continuing lessons to improve his driving skills.
Sean may have passed his test but his 'L' plates are staying on
"When you look at him, he looks like a boy racer," says driving instructor Mark Hudson.
"He's got a good attitude to driving. He is just a pleasure to be with."
Mark certainly believes that Sean's skills are improving, but what about his insurers?
Testing times
Insurance Connections use a psychological attitude test as a means of identifying safe young drivers.
"You'd think like any kind of novice, the problem is they don't know what they're doing," says Professor David Clarke, Psychologist at Nottingham University.
"In fact, in about half the cases we study, there's no shortage of skill... the problem is they do a whole bunch of silly things that anyone could chose not to do. That's what we call the attitude factors.
The test has a one in five pass rate so it's not easy.
Deaths on the road have fallen by a third in the last 10 years
Sean scores ...
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"You'd think like any kind of novice, the problem is they don't know what they're doing," says Professor David Clarke, Psychologist at Nottingham University.
"In fact, in about half the cases we study, there's no shortage of skill... the problem is they do a whole bunch of silly things that anyone could chose not to do. That's what we call the attitude factors.
The test has a one in five pass rate so it's not easy.
Deaths on the road have fallen by a third in the last 10 years
Sean scores highly, 15 out of 16, but it is not enough to be insured by Insurance Connections who demand full marks.
Positive steps
In the last decade deaths on the road have fallen by a third. This is in part due to a more rigorous driving test and adjusting the points system. Six points is all it takes to receive a ban in the first two years of driving.
For those who have suffered tragedy however, this is simply not enough.
Paul Kerr has been campaigning for the nationwide use of schemes similar to ASTRA. So far the government have refused.
"I want projects like ASTRA to be taken right across the country, because I know in my heart of hearts it saves lives."
While fatalities continue on Britain's road, Paul Kerr will continue campaigning. One death on the road is still one too many.
* On a global scale, cars appear to be involved in a mass culling of our species. In the UK alone, someone dies every two hours on the road and another 10 are seriously injured.
* Among the millions of UK drivers, most of whom regularly drive the same route without mishap, it's easy to imagine we're safe and can get away with bad habits. But complacency is the worst driving habit of all
Teenage drivers 'die showing off'
Teenage drivers with passengers twice as likely to die
Teenage drivers are more than twice as likely to be killed when they have passengers in their car, according to new research.
While older drivers have a reduced risk of fatal accidents when they have other people in their car, 16 and 17-year-olds are more likely to be killed.
Teenage motorists are also more likely to die when carrying passengers under 30 and when they are driving late at night.
It is a known problem that where young drivers are out with their mates, they are far more likely to egg each other on, and drive in dangerous ways, for instance drinking and speeding
Dave Rogers of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
Experts say teenagers are at increased risk of death because they are more likely to speed, drive dangerously and drink alcohol in the presence of peers.
And the more people in a car driven by a teenager, the higher the risk of a fatal accident, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The researchers said: "A survey of 192 high school drivers reported that dangerous driving behaviour, driving after drinking alcohol or using drugs, speeding, swerving, purposely skidding or jumping a red light were strongly associated with the presence of peers."
They have called for a "graduated licensing" system for teenagers which could place restrictions on night-time driving and how many passengers new motorists can carry.
Death rates
Car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers in the United States, accounting for 36% of fatalities among the 15-19 age group.
Teenage death drivers
Drivers aged 16-17 are 39% more likely be killed with one passenger
86% more at risk with two passengers
The overall death rate per 10 million trips for a 16-year-old was 1.99 with no passengers
2.76 with one passenger
3.69 with two passengers
5.61 with three or more passengers
And more than 3,000 people a year are killed on Britain's roads with car crashes the main cause of death among teenagers.
Dave Rogers, road safety adviser for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "It is a known problem that where young drivers are out with their mates, they are far more likely to egg each other on, and drive in dangerous ways, for instance drinking and speeding.
"We would like the UK, and Europe to look at the whole idea of graduated licensing and find out what sort of system works best.
"What we need to look at are ways to teach youngsters how to drive safely rather than just how to pass the test."
One idea is to introduce "log books" for learner drivers, who would have to submit evidence to the DVLA to prove they had sufficient driving experience before they were given a full licence.
Speed kills
Drivers travelling too fast for the conditions contribute to the numbers of deaths and injuries on our roads.
Speed contributes to more than one in five of New Zealand's road deaths every year.
Speed was a factor in 23 percent of all fatal crashes and 15 percent of all injury crashes in 2000.
Speed is more likely to be a factor for young drivers than for older drivers. In 2000, 34 percent of fatal and 20 percent of injury crashes involving 15-19 year old drivers involved excessive speed on the part of the young driver.
Speed surveys show 15 percent of cars are exceeding 110km/h on the open road.
The faster you travel on a road, the more likely you are to crash. This is because the faster you travel the more likely you are to miss important hazard cues. When you do recognise a hazard you will travel further before applying the brakes. Once the brakes are applied, you will travel further before you actually stop.
At faster speeds there is also a greater chance that other road users will misjudge how fast you are travelling.
The faster you go, the bigger the mess
Higher speeds result in more severe injuries. When a vehicle crashes, it undergoes a rapid change of speed. But the occupants keep moving at the vehicle's previous speed until they are stopped, either having been thrown from the vehicle and hitting an external object, having smashed into the vehicle interior, or having been restrained by a safety belt or airbag.
Human bodies are not designed to be hurled against objects at speed, and the faster the speed the more severe the injuries.
Slower driving saves lives...
As speeds reduce, international experience shows that the road toll goes down.
Research in the United Kingdom has found that a 1 km/h reduction in the average speed can produce up to a three percent reduction in injury crashes.
For rural roads, research in Sweden has demonstrated that there will be twice as many fatal crashes when the average speed on rural roads is 120 km/h than when it is 100 km/h. There are four times as many fatal crashes when the average speed is 130 km/h.
For urban roads, research in Australia has demonstrated that the risk of involvement in a casualty crash increases exponentially. This means that with each 5 km/h increase in travelling speed above a 60 km/h speed limit, the risk of involvement in a casualty crash approximately doubles.
...and we can prove it
Evidence of the speed/crash relationship has been demonstrated in the following studies:
Between 1987 and 1988, 40 States in the United States of America raised the speed limit on interstate highways from 55mph (88km/h) to 65mph (104km/h). This resulted in an increase in average car speeds of about 3mph (5km/h). Over the same period there was an increase in fatalities on these roads of between 20 and 25 percent.
During the 1973 fuel crisis, the New Zealand Government reduced rural speed limits from 55 mph (88 km/h) to 50mph (80 km/h). Due to concern over fuel shortages, many people complied with the new speed limit - there was an 8-10 km/h reduction in average rural speeds. The drop in speeds led to a significant drop in injuries compared to roads unaffected by the speed limit change (urban roads).
In Australia the speed limit on Melbourne's rural and outer freeway network was increased from 100 km/h to 110 km/h in 1987 and then changed back to 100 km/h in 1989. Compared to a control group (an area where the speed limit remained the same), the injury crash rate per kilometre travelled increased by 24.6% following the change from 100 to 110 km/h, and decreased by 19.3% following the change back to 100 km/h.
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Risks to pedestrians
The severity of injuries sustained by a pedestrian hit by a vehicle is clearly related to the impact speed. The risk of death increases dramatically at speeds from 40 to 60 km/h. For example, for a pedestrian hit at 40 km/h the likelihood of death is approximately 30% while at 60 km/h the likelihood of death is around 90%.
The risks for vulnerable pedestrians, such as the elderly and young children, are even higher.
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Speed cameras
Why do we have speed cameras?
The well-publicised use of speed cameras, particularly in blackspot areas, has been shown to substantially reduce crashes. International experience shows that speed cameras are a highly cost-effective speed management tool. This means they save a lot of lives for the cost of putting them in place and operating them.
Some facts about speed cameras
Speed cameras were introduced in New Zealand in 1993. Within the first 12 months of operation, speed-related crashes fell by 5.5 percent.
Speeds reduced over the same period. The average speed in rural areas fell by 1.6km/h. The average speed in urban areas fell by 1.2km/h.
The number of vehicles travelling over 110km/h fell from 31 percent in 1993 to 25 percent by the end of 1994.
There are 13 static cameras operating from over 50 sites and 31 mobile cameras operating from police vehicles at over 1,100 sites.
Speed cameras are sited on stretches of roads which have a record of speed related crashes.
Police choose sites after consultation with the Land Transport Safety Authority, Automobile Association and road controlling authorities. All camera sites are signposted.
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Penalties
Up to 50 km/h over the limit
Speeding fines progressively increase for speeds in excess of 10 km/h over the limit, with a maximum fine of $630 for speeds up to 50 km/h over the limit.
More than 50 km/h over the limit
Speeding offences of more than 50 km/h over the limit fall under the categories of careless, dangerous or reckless driving, depending on the circumstances. These offences also result in an immediate 28 day licence suspension.
Demerit points
Demerit points are given for all speeding infringements other than speed camera offences. If you get a total of 100 or more within two years, you will be suspended from driving for three months.
Speed Demerit points
Exceeding speed limit by up to 10km|h 10
Exceeding speed limit by 11 - 20km|h 20
Exceeding speed limit by 21 - 30km|h 35
Exceeding speed limit by 31 - 35km|h 40
Exceeding speed limit by 36km|h or more 50
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Speed related legislation
971 Speeding Infringement System introduced.
973 Safety helmets made compulsory for motorcyclists and pillion riders at all speeds.
Maximum open road speed limit reduced from 55 mph (88km|h) to 50 mph (80km/h), as part of fuel conservation measures.
975 Change over to metric speed limits (mph to km|h).
985 The open road speed limit was increased from 80km|h to 100km|h for all vehicles except Heavy Motor Vehicles and articulated vehicles (speed limit 90km|h), and vehicles towing traliers (80km|h).
989 Increased fees for speeding infringements.
993 Speed cameras operational from October.
Changes to demerit points system, including graduated points for speeding offences.
999 Roadside licence suspension introduced for those drivers caught speeding at more than 50km/h over the limit.
