Skip to main content

Make traffic policing and casualty reduction a priority, says charity

A report released this week by road safety charity Brake and Direct Line has revealed that nearly half of UK drivers (49 per cent) admit to breaking traffic laws. Of those, half say they do so through inattention, while the other half admit to doing so deliberately, because they think they can get away with it or do not agree with the laws. When asked what unsafe driving behaviour they witnessed most, 71 per cent cited distraction such as from mobile phones, followed by tailgating speeding (67 per ce
April 29, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSA report released this week by road safety charity 4235 Brake and 4236 Direct Line has revealed that nearly half of UK drivers (49 per cent) admit to breaking traffic laws.

Of those, half say they do so through inattention, while the other half admit to doing so deliberately, because they think they can get away with it or do not agree with the laws.

When asked what unsafe driving behaviour they witnessed most, 71 per cent cited distraction such as from mobile phones, followed by tailgating speeding (67 per cent) and risky overtaking (66 per cent) topped the list of UK drivers’ concerns.

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, said: “As these figures make clear, law breaking on our roads is not just down to a minority but endemic. For whatever reason, many seem to feel they are beyond the law or that traffic laws are somehow optional. This represents a failure by government to ensure traffic policing is receiving adequate priority and to make clear the importance and legitimacy of traffic laws.

“Whoever takes power after 7 May needs to make traffic policing a national policing priority, to ensure there is a strong deterrent against risky law-breaking on roads.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • High-mileage drivers more dismissive value of speed cameras, says survey
    July 27, 2015
    High-mileage drivers are more likely than any other type of road user to think speed cameras have ‘little or no influence’ in reducing the numbers of road casualties in the UK, according to a white paper issued by the Institute of Advanced Motorists’ (IAM) Drive and Survive division. The paper, Speed Cameras – The Views of High Mileage Drivers, also found 28 per cent of high-mileage drivers have a negative view of speed cameras – 10 per cent more than other drivers. It also found that more than half o
  • More Than: over half of Britons in test support car crash images used as speeding deterrent
    November 20, 2017
    58% of Britons who took part in a More Than (MT) visual deterrent speed sign test support its new proposal for speed limit signs to be accompanied by images of car crashes to deter drivers from speeding. The test follows a recent study from the campaign group, which revealed that 62% of drivers regularly ignore speeding signs along with 25% who stated that the threat of having to attend a speed awareness course isn't enough of a deterrent. Upon the reasons behind the effectiveness of the images in causing
  • IAM RoadSmart: high profile policing and consistent sentencing need to back up life time sentences for drivers who kill
    October 17, 2017
    IAM RoadSmart (IRS) has welcomed the new UK government legislation that could issue life sentences to drivers who cause death by speeding, street racing or while a mobile phone, or under the influence of drink or drugs. However, the road safety charity warned that high profile policing and consistent jail sentences are also needed to tackle reckless driving that kills.
  • Sign language reduces human error says Clearview
    September 26, 2019
    Wrong-way warning systems and advanced queue detection can help to reduce human error. They can also cut road accidents – and therefore road deaths, says Clearview Intelligence Where were nearly 1,800 deaths on the UK’s roads in 2018 – an average of five people dying each day. The largest single cause of serious injury is crashes at junctions (accounting for 33% of incidents), while the largest single cause of death was run-off road crashes (30%) “With vehicles increasingly being designed with saf