County Durham has highest number of speed-related casualties in region
There's been over 80 serious collisions in the last 5 years, with more than 200 crashes in total
A North East road safety charity is telling us County Durham has the highest number of speed related casualties in the region.
In the last 5 years, there's been 212 crashes in total, 117 were described as 'slight', 82 as 'serious' and 13 were fatal.
Pupils have joined the call for drivers to slow down after the latest figures showed that one fifth of fatalities on North East roads involved a speeding driver.
Children from Timothy Hackworth Primary School in Shildon, in County Durham and Errington Primary School in Marske, have thrown their weight behind the campaign by Road Safety GB North East (RSGB NE) and police and fire services in appealing for motorists to slow down and look out for each other.
During the past five years, there have been 1,185 road casualties in the region where speed was a factor. Of them, 48 people were killed and 357 were seriously injured.
Of those collisions, two-thirds of the drivers were aged between 17 and 34.
RSGB NE Chair Peter Slater said: “Speeding features as a factor in a large number of casualties on the region’s roads and we know that if motorists just slowed down, we could drastically reduce the severity of many collisions."
“During the last five years, the figures have remained stubbornly high. We want to remind all road users that speed limits are there for a reason. People should drive for the roads and the conditions.
“Driving at a higher speed means you have less time to react. The faster you’re driving, the more likely someone will be killed in a collision, especially pedestrians. Nobody wants that on their conscience.”
The figures showed that half of these collisions happened within three miles of the driver’s home and within a 30mph limit, showing that people are likely to speed on smaller roads they are very familiar with.
Headteacher Timothy Hackworth Primary School, Lynn Boulton said she was very glad to support the campaign.
She said: “Teaching children about road safety is essential. Our children are using their pupil voice to educate drivers about these concerns. More awareness-raising is necessary to help children to have their right to be safe.”