Road Safety Week 2020 Reminds Us There Is No Need To Speed

At Pink Car Leasing we have had an intimate knowledge of cars and their capabilities for many years, and whilst we like to promote cars that have power and speed, this is all done on the basis that people must obey by the laws of the road, and they must stick to the speed limits. Road Safety Week is taking place on 16th November and their special tagline for 2020 is that there is ‘no need to speed’ and at Pink Car Leasing we couldn’t agree more.

Road Safety Week is an initiative that includes schools, organisations and communities, with the aim of raising awareness and educating people early in best practice, the laws of the road and in promoting life-saving messages. There are many aspects of road safety that are covered during these educational sessions:

• Drink and drug driving

• Driving whilst using a mobile phone

• Motor vehicle maintenance

• Wearing a seatbelt

• Braking distances

• Driver fatigue

How does speeding create danger on the roads?

These are all very common issues which cause safety concerns on the road every single day, but whilst they are all individual safety issues in their own right, their severity can be increased if you also add the ingredient of a driver exceeding the speed limit, so sticking to speed limits will reduce these hazards, as well as paying attention to traffic signals, staying alert, using brakes properly, driving according to the weather conditions and not tailgating.

Many drivers see a speed limit as a ‘guide’, when of course it is the maximum speed you can drive in that area. You will be fined or have penalty points added to your licence if you are caught exceeding these limits. But more importantly, you can kill or injure someone.

Speeding accounts for 24% of fatal collisions on the roads, and even if you are driving at 40mph in a 30mph zone, the risk of causing a death is increased four times. And because two out of three crashes happen on roads with a 30mph or less limit, this highlights the importance of sticking to the limits, because it makes an enormous difference to the likelihood of causing a crash.

A road safety message from Pink Car Leasing

At Pink Car Leasing we deal with new cars all the time, and we understand how people are attracted to their performance capabilities. But we also stress to our customers the need to adhere to road safety messages at all times, and indeed to the speed limits appropriate to different roads. In order to endorse the 2020 Road Safety Week message of ‘no need to speed’ we would ask all our customers to make note of the following guidelines when driving on the roads:

• Be aware of what the speed limit is at all times: it is not always obvious what the speed limit is, so err on the side of caution and drive slower until you see a sign which confirms the speed limit. Also, the speed limit might change, so be alert to this at all times.

• Check your speed regularly: don’t just assume you are driving at the correct speed, it is not always easy to judge, whether on slower or faster roads. You need to check your speedometer every few seconds and adjust your speed immediately if you are driving – or about to be driving – too fast.

• Concentrate: whatever speed you are driving you need to concentrate, but naturally, if you are driving faster you have less reaction time when a potential hazard appears. This doesn’t necessarily mean you are exceeding a speed limit, but when driving at the national speed limit, or at 49mph in a 50mph zone, you need full concentration at all times.

• Don’t rush: this sounds obvious, but there are ways to avoid speeding when you don’t have to. Some drivers speed out of ignorance, but equally you might have a reason to drive fast, ie. you are late for an appointment or are attending to an emergency. Unfortunately, this might not help you in the eyes of the law, if you are caught speeding. Be organised, check traffic, routes and weather conditions etc and do everything you can to avoid having to speed because you are late.