Drivers urged to take care on rural roads
A campaign to remind motorists to drive carefully on rural roads - even though they may be quieter than urban roads - was launched in October 2004 by the Department for Transport.
The majority of all fatalities (63%) occur on rural roads (DfT 2003), and over 16,000 people were killed or seriously injured last year on these kinds of roads.
However a survey revealed that drivers on rural roads are driving with less care than on urban roads. In particular:
- younger (17-28 year olds) and inexperienced drivers (driving for less than a year) are taking the most risks with almost one in ten of those surveyed admitting they think it's safer to break the speed limit on rural roads due to the lack of cars around;
- a third (33%) of all younger drivers are also confident that fewer crashes take place on rural roads because they are quieter.
The new campaign is the first to be aimed at rural drivers. It seeks to remind motorists to drive sensibly for the conditions on all roads and highlight that rural roads can present unforeseen hazards, such as blind bends or animals in the road, to motorists.
The radio advert highlights the potentially fatal consequences of driving too fast and is aimed primarily at younger drivers.
Road Safety Minister, David Jamieson said:
"We are committed to improving road safety on every road in the country - but too many accidents are happening on quiet country roads. It's only right we highlight the dangers and urge motorists to take the same care as they do when driving in urban areas to avoid crashes."
Other findings from the research include:
- 13% of men questioned agreed that it was safer to break the speed limit on rural roads due to the lack of cars around as opposed to only 2% of women;
- almost double (40%) the amount of men than women (24%) thought that fewer crashes take place on rural roads because they are quieter;
- over twice (21%) as many men as women (10%) think it's safe to drive faster on rural roads late at night because they believe you'll see headlights coming the other way as well as almost a quarter (22%) of younger drivers.
Advice from the THINK! road safety campaign on rural driving includes:
- Don't think it's safe to break the speed limit on rural roads just because there is less traffic. There are unforeseen hazards, such as blind bends or animals in the road, that could lead to crashes. At slower speeds, you would be able to react to these unforeseen hazards more quickly.
- Take special care when driving at night on rural roads as other drivers' headlights could temporarily blind you.
- You need to adjust your speed and driving according to the weather and road conditions on rural roads, as rain and other hazards are often contributory factors in rural crashes.
- With a clear road ahead you may be tempted to put your foot down. But THINK! before you start to speed on rural roads.
Get the reasons behind various speed limits from a Think! campaign leaflet on
www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/slowdown/pdf/2005speedleaflet.pdf.
The Think! road safety campaign site is
www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/
Published: 6 October 2004.
