Emergency services aim to crack down on dangerous driving amid ‘speeding epidemic’
Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, Avon & Somerset Police and the South Western Ambulance Service were just some groups urging people to take more care on the region’s roads
Emergency services are braced for a busy summer on the roads, with emergency services calling for people to think of the dangers while driving.
Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, Avon & Somerset Police and the South Western Ambulance Service were just some groups urging people to take more care on the region’s roads. They teamed up at the Royal Bath & West Show last week to highlight the message.
Road safety coordinator for Somerset County Council, Neill Sedgwick, expressed the significance of engaging with the public and various road users, emphasising that the message of safety applies to everyone—from young children learning to cross the road to experienced drivers and motorcyclists.
He explained that the West’s roads had been getting busier. “People are leading busier lives, so when using the roads, we need to be taking a little bit more time and a little bit more care to look out for each other.”
Annabelle Priest, road safety officer with the Devon Fire & Rescue Service, shed light on the “fatal five,” the leading causes of injuries and accidents on the road. These include speeding, fatigue, failure to wear seat belts, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and distractions such as mobile phone usage.
She said: “Surprisingly, it tends not to be the influx of tourists that have the RTCs. Most people have RTCs within a few miles of their own homes, which is because you relax when you get onto familiar roads.
“So, while we do have a huge influx into Devon, Somerset and Cornwall over the summer months, and it’s really good to remind people not to drive tired in particular, obviously not to drink or take drugs before driving, but it’s also worth remembering, if you’re local, to take extra special care once you get closer to home.
Adrian Humphries, a speed enforcement officer with Avon & Somerset Police, highlighted the concerning trend of increased speeding since the lifting of lockdown restrictions, calling it an ‘epidemic’. With fewer vehicles on the road, drivers often take advantage of the additional space, leading to a surge in speeding incidents.
He explained: “We’ve had more calls for our presence in more places now than since before the lockdown. Hopefully, we can service that, but it’s quite an epidemic at the moment.”
“If I catch you speed in a 20 or a 30, you know you’re going too fast. We’re not after people just trickling over, but you know you’re going too fast if I catch you. Most of the speeds that we catch people at, certainly in a 20, is significantly over, and we’re catching them going 30-plus.
“We’re trying to get people back to how it used to be when people could feel safe in their neighbourhoods. What drivers need to think about the 20 limits is that it’s not there for them. As a driver, you are passing through people’s communities; therefore, you are not the priority. The priority is the people who live there, whose kids live there, and who play on the street. If you don’t like it, there are other ways to go.
“Most of the twenties, in Bristol, for example, tend to become rat-runs. Motorists don’t have to go that way; they choose to. If they choose to go through a 20, they should stay to 20.”
He said it was frustrating that the team needed more resources to deal with speeding effectively.
“Ideally, I would like to be in some of my bad spots every day, but I can’t do that because I’ve got so many sites to furnish. Each community deserves my time, as well as the next community. We can’t be out enough because there’s not enough of us, but that’s life, so we carry on and do our best for our communities.”
Lee Evans, the on-road team manager from National Highways, expressed alarm at the rising traffic flows in the region. He said: “I must be honest, 18 years in this job, I haven’t seen traffic flows like going south on the M5 for around 15 years. Things are getting busy on our roads, and I think it is leading to more collisions. Today, we’re promoting safe roads, safe journeys, safe tyres, and going big on safety.
“Many people travel through the South West down to Cornwall and beyond. We are just encouraging people to check their tyres, their fuel and SOS button in their vehicle if they have one, and to make sure they know how to use it.”
“We also want to urge people to take plenty to drink on their journeys. You’d be surprised by the number of people who break down and don’t have water, especially with the hot weather.
“Also, make sure you have appropriate clothing. People travel from far afield with flip-flops and three-quarter-length trousers, which is always surprising.
“Finally, don’t stop on the hard shoulder. It isn’t a safe place; it’s dangerous and only for emergencies.”
Mandy Ross, a volunteer with Doc Bikes, highlighted the need to bikers and motorists to be aware of their surroundings at this time of year.
The charity was founded in Dorset in 2016, supporting doctors to ride on bikes enabling them to arrive at incidents quickly. The charity also provides information and education to bikers.
Mandy explained: “We’re engaging with bikers and getting them to upskill, and we have a PhD researcher looking at why bike accidents happen and what we can do to alleviate that. The statistics look as if we’re reducing the number of bike accidents and fatalities.
“We believe that this is because of education and engagement. We put up road signs, for example, strategically places because of research that has been done, in places where there has been more than one accident and where we know bikers use.
“One of the main roads we have targeted is the Jurassic Coast Road, which is a favourite and beautiful road to ride, but there have been many accidents.
“The signs are there for the benefit of bikers to remind them that they need to be aware of junctions, for example. Also, for car drivers, so that they’re aware that there will be bikers on the roads.”
She continued: “It tends to be that a lot of accidents will happen at the beginning of the season because lots of bikers rusty after getting their bikes out for the summer and start riding again. Also, motorists may not be used to seeing bikes around, so it is a twofold thing.”
PC Rachel Mahy from the road safety team of Avon & Somerset Police was keen to emphasise the need for people to check trailers and caravans.
She explained: “More than 90 per cent of them are unroadworthy. They don’t need an MOT, and people forget a caravan is classed as a trailer. It’s anything that’s towed behind your vehicle.
“A caravan could be sat for nine months of the year, and then people go put it on the back, whizz it down to Cornwall and then it turns over on the M5, and all your underwear is all over the place, and the motorway is shut for hours.”
She explained they had brought a demonstration trailer to the Bath & West Show to display how the brakes and suspension should look on a trailer.
“Make sure your tyres are legal and 1.6 or of the same millimetre that the towing vehicle is and that they’re roadworthy, Make sure they’ve not got balding patches around or any wires sticking out and also check how old their tyres are, as anything rubber can perish. If your tyre goes, your trailer is at risk of tipping over.
“Brakes are also important. If you have a braked trailer which is over 750gkgs, then your brakes need to be in working order, the same as you would be for your towing vehicle. You wouldn’t drive a car with faulty brakes, and you shouldn’t be towing your trailer with faulty brakes.”
She added that the main reason for incidents on the region’s roads was a lack of knowledge.
“People don’t realise how dangerous they can be until they’re sat on the hard shoulder with a puncture, or their trailer has tipped over.”
Julie Garbutt, the regional manager in the South West for the British Horse Society, urged motorists to look out for horses and riders on the roads.
She said: “Our message today is about how drivers must pass a horse, wide and slow at a maximum of ten miles per hour, two meters distance if possible. I know that can be challenging down the country lanes, but just be patient, and we can all safely get where we’re going.
“Horses can be quite unpredictable animals, and it can be quite scary if you’ve got a car that’s being a little bit close or a little bit impatient. We want people to hear the message of passing wide and passing slowly.”
She said cars passing too close or too fast can be a ‘frightening experience’. She added: “A lot of drivers do the right thing, and they’re really good, and a lot of horses are very good in traffic, but it only takes that one driver or that one horse having a bad day and that combination of a driver coming a bit too close or a bit too fast, or a horse spooking at something in the hedgerow, that lovely country scene of the horse riding down the road suddenly changes.
“We’d just like people to just think about the fact that horse is a flight animal. It will run away from anything it thinks it’s dangerous; that could be the car, or it could be something on the left-hand side of it, such as a lawn mower, a child playing or a dog barking.
“Just give us that little bit more time and room so we can all get to where we’re going safely.”