Demands made for care on Wiltshire roads as speeding figures soar
Over 7,500 people have been caught speeding on our roads this year
Drivers in Wiltshire are being urged to take be more watchful of their speed by a road safety charity.
Figures published by Wiltshire Police reveal a staggering 7,631 people have been caught speeding on roads in our county so far this year.
By the end of May 2024, 4,606 people had been caught over the speed limit.
Risk of death increases more than your speed
Luca Straker from road safety charity, Brake, told us that one in four fatal crashes are the consequence of driving too fast, saying it's a conscious decision drivers make.
They said: "It's not something that happens without you knowing, it's something that you've chosen to do.
"That's why it is worrying and it disappointing because, if we know that speeding is going to cause crashes, the faster you drive, the harder you crash, the more likely you are to kill or seriously injure somebody."
Luca said that the risk of a fatality rises by 5% for every mile-per-hour we increase our speed on the road.
They said it's a crime we see committed every day: "It's something that's in our society where we think that is an OK law to break, but that is one of the main reasons that people are crashing.
"Five people die on our roads every single day and a further 80 are seriously injured. If we all drove within a speed limit, those numbers would come down dramatically."
No excuses for speeding
Luca insisted that the deterrent for speeding should be the desire to get home safely.
People caught speeding can be offered speed awareness courses, or hit with a fine and penalty points on their licences.
"We want our loved ones to get home safely. That's really should have all it been needed to to make sure that we don't we don't drive above the speed limit," Luca said.
They added that there is no valid reason for us to be driving above the speed limit, saying it isn't the best solution for anyone.
Luca said that while more people being caught can be seen as a positive, the message from Brake is not to speed in the first place.
Brake charity supports over 2,000 families who have been bereaved or seriously injured as a result of crashes on the road.