Britain\u2019s road safety strategy is facing renewed pressure as experts call for vehicles to be fitted with technology capable of preventing dangerous speeding, warning that excessive speed remains one of the biggest threats to motorists, pedestrians and communities.<\/p>\n
Road safety organisations are urging ministers to accelerate the introduction of Intervening Intelligent Speed Assistance (IISA) technology, which can automatically limit throttle input when a vehicle exceeds the posted speed limit.<\/p>\n
The move comes as the Government targets a major reduction in road casualties, with ambitions to cut deaths and serious injuries by 65 per cent by 2035 and reduce casualties among under-16s by 70 per cent.<\/p>\n
But campaigners argue that stronger action is needed as speeding continues to contribute to thousands of serious collisions each year.<\/p>\n
Official figures show that 1,602 people were killed on roads across Great Britain last<\/a> year, with speeding, drink and drug driving, failure to wear seatbelts and driver distraction among the leading causes.<\/p>\n New analysis from the RAC revealed the scale of excessive speeding, with seven in 10 police forces recording cases where motorists were caught travelling at double the speed limit or more on 30mph roads.<\/p>\n More than 270,000 drivers were caught exceeding 30mph limits across 33 police force areas.<\/p>\n In one case, a motorist was recorded travelling at 114mph on a 30mph road in Aylestone, Leicestershire, close to a primary school<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another driver was caught travelling at 89mph on a 20mph stretch of road in Deeside, north Wales and in the Cotswolds a car was driving at 96mph in a 20 zone, but yet Thames Valley Police are doing nothing despite it being reported.<\/p>\n The figures have intensified calls for technology-led intervention rather than relying solely on enforcement and penalties.<\/p>\n The RAC said research showed strong public backing for tougher measures, with 86 per cent of drivers supporting action to tackle excessive speeding and 55 per cent strongly supporting additional measures.<\/p>\n The motoring organisation believes IISA technology could play a significant role by preventing vehicles from accelerating beyond legal limits<\/a> in most circumstances.<\/p>\n Unlike traditional speed limiters<\/a>, the system is designed to intervene only when necessary and can be overridden in limited situations.<\/p>\n Rod Dennis, senior policy officer at the RAC, said the recorded speeds<\/a> showed the \u201cchilling\u201d levels some drivers were prepared to reach.<\/p>\n He warned that some offences occurred in residential areas and near schools during times when pedestrians and other road users were likely to be present.<\/p>\n \u201cSome were recorded in residential areas, even near schools,\u201d he said, highlighting the dangers posed by extreme speeding.<\/p>\n Supporters of intelligent speed systems argue that technology could provide<\/a> a more effective long-term solution by preventing dangerous behaviour before crashes occur.<\/p>\n Chief Constable Jo Shiner, the National Police Chiefs\u2019 Council lead for roads policing, said a wider cultural change was needed, warning that many drivers<\/a> now viewed speeding as acceptable.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that a majority of drivers now believe there is a culture where speeding is acceptable reflects a deeply embedded issue in driver behaviour,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The debate comes as ministers consider responses to the Government\u2019s Road Safety Strategy consultation, with campaigners calling for excessive speeding and repeat offenders to become a central focus<\/a>.<\/p>\n For policymakers, the challenge is balancing driver freedom with the growing demand<\/a> for safer roads. As vehicle technology advances, the question facing Britain\u2019s<\/a> transport system is whether preventing dangerous speeds should become automatic rather than relying on enforcement after the damage has already been done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Britain\u2019s road safety strategy is facing renewed pressure as experts call for vehicles to be fitted with technology…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[8265,13,61,368,33,14,31756],"class_list":["post-79887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-britain","tag-automotive","tag-britain","tag-crime","tag-law","tag-police","tag-politics","tag-rac"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116890361715503505","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}