Company News from yesinsurance
14 August 2008 Cut Speed Limits To Stop 100 MPH Drivers, Says Motor Insurer
Spanish government environmental proposals to cut motorway speed limits to 50mph and town speeds to 25mph should be adopted in the UK, according to researchers at yesinsurance.co.uk, the UK motor insurance provider – as much in the interest of road safety as energy-saving.
Research conducted by the insurer among 4,000 UK motorists last summer indicates that nine out of ten men (90%) admit to exceeding the 70mph speed limit, with a staggering two-thirds (63%) saying they have driven over 100 miles per hour.
Female drivers are safer when compared with men, but still display a level of disregard for safety and the law. Just over three quarters (77%) of women admit to breaking the speed limit, whilst a third (36%) say they have driven over 100 miles per hour.
“Contrary to popular belief, cutting speed limits will not necessarily lead to a significant increase in journey times, because of a corresponding reduction in bunching and heavy braking which traditionally disrupts traffic flow on motorways,” said Paul Purdy of yesinsurance.co.uk.
“The Spanish proposal is designed to cut the country’s dependency on imported oil by 10%. We know from our own research that driving at 50mph instead of 70mph reduces fuel consumption by around a quarter,” he said.
“In the UK, we would like to see the 70mph and 60mph limits reduced to 50mph, with 5mph reduced from each speed limit below this level. We estimate that this will save drivers around 15% on their fuel bills, whilst at the same time cutting road deaths and injuries by up to 20%,” he said.
Around 3,000 people a year are killed on UK roads, with over 30,000 seriously injured. Research conducted by Ashton and Mackay in 1979 showed that speed reductions have a significant effect on survival rates. A pedestrian hit by a car driving at 20mph has a 97% chance of survival, but this falls to 80% at 30mph, 50% at 35mph and 10% at 40mph.
Ironically, whilst men are far more likely to speed than women, the yesinsurance research indicates that a third of men (31%) think they are better drivers.
However, road accident statistics show the opposite. There are 30% more male drivers than female, but they are involved in almost twice as many car accidents as women.
Insurance policies provided online at www.yesinsurance.co.uk are designed to provide the best deals for drivers with cars or vans that are over 5 years old, which account for around 60% of all cars currently on the road.
