Road deaths and serious injuries caused by driver speed rose significantly last year, new analysis by Brake has revealed.

Two-fifths of drivers say the default speed limit in built-up areas should be lowered to 20mph

Published as this year’s Road Safety Week gets underway, analysis of government data by the road safety charity reveals road deaths caused by speeding rise by 20% in 2022. That’s against a backdrop of a 10% rise in overall road fatalities last year, which increased to 1,766 people.

And as a survey by Brake finds that more than a third (34%) of drivers say they sometimes or often break the speed limit, it’s calling on everyone to join a national conversation about speed.

This year’s Road Safety Week is working to raise awareness of the dangers of excessive and inappropriate speed, and challenge why so many people still think it is acceptable to drive faster than the speed limit.

Brake’s public opinion survey, carried out among more than 2,000 drivers, found that 92% of drivers think that speed limits are essential for the safety of our roads. And two-fifths (39%) of drivers surveyed also agreed that the default speed limit on roads in built-up areas should be lowered from 30mph to 20mph.

Despite this, 40% think that driving just a little bit over the speed limit doesn’t matter.

Ross Moorlock, interim CEO at Brake, said: “Today, five people will be killed on our roads. And tomorrow, another five won’t make it home to their families. And so on, and so on, until we all say ‘Enough!’ and start taking responsibility for each other’s safety on the road.

“The speed we choose to drive at can mean the difference between life and death. Our speed dictates whether we can stop in time to avoid a crash, and the force of impact if we can’t stop. This Road Safety Week, whoever you are, and however you travel, I urge you to join the conversation and talk about speed. Please talk to as many people as you can to find out why, when five people die on our roads every day, so many of us still choose to drive too fast.”

This year’s Road Safety Week is being backed by more than 3,400 schools, communities, organisations and emergency services, together representing more than 17 million people.

Participants are organising local activities, sharing important road safety messages and posing the question: ‘If five people die on UK roads every day, why do we still think it is ok to speed?’

Brake has provided free resources to everyone taking part in Road Safety Week, including factsheets, films, posters and more for businesses, local communities and campaign groups.

Event sponsors Arval UK, Autoglass and DHL Supply Chain are also running a range of initiatives – including Arval’s new videos that reveal fleet risks.

Ian Pearson, head of insurance at Arval UK, said: “With Arval’s commitment to influencing and acting for driver safety, Road Safety Week 2023 conveys an important key message: ‘Speeding puts your life and the lives of other road users at risk.’

“We’ll be encouraging our employees, our customers and their drivers to get involved and raise awareness of the damage that speeding can cause. This week we’ll be sharing Brake’s social media posts and holding events throughout our offices – it all helps to remind drivers that speeding is simply never smart.”

Gavin Murdoch, managing director, transport, at DHL Supply Chain UK&I, added: “DHL is proud to sponsor Road Safety Week again this year. By supporting Brake’s campaign in 2023, DHL aims to amplify the impact of their efforts and further promote the message of road safety to all.”