Gateshead Speed Management Plan (SMP)

In this section

• Why we review the SMP

• Relevance of the SMP

• Speed as a factor in an accident

• Wider benefits of reduced speed

• Who does speed

• What speeding includes

Why we review the SMP 

The previous Speed Management Plan (SMP) was approved in 2007. It was informed by the Department for Transport (DfT) circular 1/06 'Setting Local Speed Limits'. In January 2013 the DfT revised its guidance and GOV.UK - setting local speed limits (opens new window) was published. Whilst the principles contained within DfT circular 01/13 have informed our speed management considerations since 2013 the SMP has not been formally reviewed and updated during this time. 

Circular 01/13 retains and builds upon many of the underlying principles of DfT Circular 01/06 whilst providing additional evidence of the safety and wider benefits of setting appropriate speed limits. 
It is also important to update the plan for the following reasons: 

• To reflect changes in other local and national policy and guidance 
• To reflect the speed management works that have taken place or are planned 
• To review and reflect on more up to date trends and statistics 
• To reflect changes in technology 

Since the initial establishment of the SMP a Police and Crime Commissioner has assumed responsibilities that were previously within the remit of a Police Authority. However, the police continue to be responsible for speed enforcement on the highway. 

In 2015 the speed limit for HGV's over 7.5 tonnes increased from 40mph to 50mph on single carriageway roads and from 50mph to 60mph on dual carriageway roads.

Appendix B sets out the current UK speed limits by use class and road type. 

Relevance of a SMP 

Road Safety is an important issue, with excess speed a factor in a significant proportion of accidents. We, and Northumbria Police, receive many requests and expressions of concern in relation to speed management each year. Speeding traffic affects people in many different ways. 

Over the last ten years, there has been a gradual downward trend in highway casualties in Gateshead, reducing from 872 in 2008 to 511 in 2018, a fall of 41%. This reduction is demonstrated through the table and chart below. 

Figure 1 - Number and Severity of Highway Casualties in Gateshead, 2008 to 2018 

Figure 2 shows that the number of casualties linked to speed has been decreasing in line with overall injuries, with a 66% reduction from 2008 to 2018. 

Causation factors are recorded by the police when attending a road traffic collision and this allows the number of injuries that the police believe were the result of a speeding to be identified.

The figures for Gateshead are detailed in figure 2. 

Figure 3 below shows the average value to society in road casualty prevention. Based on this the accidents set out in figure 1 can be estimated to have cost society more than £43 million. 

Figure 3 - Department for Transport, Accident and casualty costs (RAS60) (2018)

Average value of prevention per reported casualty and per reported road accident. Costs, values and reported road accidents are based on 2017 prices and data. The figures in this table are National Statistics.

The downward trend in injury accidents in Gateshead is positive, particularly when set against a background of increasing population/car use and plateauing national accident statistics.

We believe that any responsible community must recognise the benefits of reducing traffic speeds and take the issue of speeding traffic seriously. Further work must therefore be undertaken in a variety of ways to ensure accident levels remain low and continue to fall. 

This SMP fits closely with our Thrive Agenda which aims to make the borough a place where everyone thrives. It also links closely to the Tyne and Wear Local Transport Plan (opens new window), which includes policies to curb excessive road speeds, continue the introduction of 20mph speed limits, improve road safety and reduce road casualties through engineering, education and enforcement. 

This SMP sets out how we intend to continue to develop and implement its approach towards speed management in Gateshead, and in doing so help minimise the number and severity of highway accidents in the borough. 

Speed as a factor in highway accidents 

Injury accidents on the highway can occur as a result of a number of factors, of which inappropriate and/or excessive speed is one. Nationally inappropriate speed contributes to around 11% of all injury collisions reported to the police, 15% of crashes resulting in a serious injury and 24% of collisions that result in a death.

Higher speeds mean that drivers have less time to identify and react to what is happening around them, it takes longer for the vehicle to stop and the vehicle carries more force into an impact with another object. It removes the driver's safety margin and turns near misses into crashes.
 
One of the most powerful research findings of recent years found that an increase in average speed of one mph results in an average 5% increase in the total number of accidents. Correspondingly, a one mph reduction in average speed results in an average 5% reduction. This indicates that even marginal reductions in average speeds can result in major road safety gains. 

 The research by the Transport Research Laboratory also showed that the reduction varies by road type, as follows: 

• around 6% for urban roads with low average speeds 
• around 4% for medium speed urban roads and lower speed rural main roads 
• around 3% for higher speed urban roads and rural main roads 

The link between speed, accident numbers and severity is well established. Analysis of vehicle speed in pedestrian fatalities in Great Britain for example, found that 85% of pedestrians are killed when hit by a vehicle travelling at up to 40mph, dropping to 45% for speeds up to 30mph and 5% for speeds below 20mph. 

Campaign group Road safety GB (opens new window) reported in 2019 that one in five fatal collisions in the region between 2014 and 2018 involved excessive speed, which equates to 58 deaths. (Road safety GB North East)

There is also a clear distinction between the accidents that occur in urban and rural scenarios. Around two thirds of highway fatalities in the UK occur on rural roads whereas a large proportion of pedestrian and cyclist injury accidents occur in urban settings. 

Wider benefits of reduced speed

 In addition to reducing the number and severity of accidents speed management/reduction has the potential to realise wider benefits, including; 

Air quality/climate change 

Reducing the relative attractiveness of the car and increased attractiveness of sustainable modes for shorter journeys. Half of all journeys made in Britain are less than two miles in length.

When driven from a cold start, these journeys produce disproportionate amounts of harmful gases and particulate matter, which reduce air quality and impact negatively on climate change. Creating a road environment that encourages more people to make these shorter journeys on foot or by bicycle where possible is a key part of reducing unnecessary pollution from motor vehicles. 

Noise pollution 

Road traffic is a major source of noise nuisance, and this increases proportionally with speed. 

The UK Noise Association have reported that in urban areas with existing traffic speeds of between 20mph and 34mph reducing speeds by 6mph could reduce noise levels by up to 40%. Noise from vehicles travelling at higher speeds can be linked to both engine noise and tyre/road surface noise. 

Health

By increasing the attractiveness of walking and cycling for shorter journeys greater levels of activity and consequent physical and mental health benefits are realised. Safer road environments can also help to enable people with disabilities or additional needs to get active. 

Increased levels of sustainable travel will in turn improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nationally in 2019 the UK Government published GOV.UK - Clean air strategy 2019 (opens new window), setting out measures and targets relating to improved air quality, which can be linked to a variety of respiratory problems as well as cancer and heart disease. In 2016 approximately 110 deaths were thought to have been the direct cause of air pollution in Gateshead. GOV.UK - Road to zero (opens new window), published in 2018 sets out measures to clean up transport and its decarbonisation in transport plan in support of this is expected in 2020. 

Economy

• Reduced pressures on the NHS as a result of fewer road casualties and a healthier population 
• Reduced pressure on Ambulance, Police and Fire and Rescue Services 
• Fewer lost work days due to sick leave 
• Fewer delays in transporting goods and lost work time 
• Less damage to property 

 Community 

Reducing and managing vehicle speeds can help reconnect communities and make them more pleasant and attractive places to live. Encouraging people to walk and cycle rather than take the car improves social interaction, inclusion and helps create a better sense of place and community. 

Wildlife

There are various studies outlining the impact of roads and human development in fragmenting wildlife habitats. The result is the need for wildlife to cross roads in order to move from one habitat area to another. Speed as a factor in this, particularly in rural and semi-rural areas, is important as it makes the crossing of the highway more difficult for wildlife. The British Mammal Society in June 2018 reported that one in five British Mammals face high risk of extinction. The report highlights road deaths and climate change as two key factors in this decline. 

Who does speed

Research shows that during free flow conditions a significant proportion of car drivers exceed the speed limit of the road on which they are travelling. On roads with a 30mph speed limit for example, 52% of motorists typically drive in excess of the speed limit, with 6% exceeding by more than 10mph. 

Compliance with speed limits is clearly a major issue with many treating it as an acceptable social norm.

Figure 4 below shows the level of speed limit exceeded on different types of road in Great Britain. 

Figure 4 - Department for Transport- Vehicle speed compliance statistics, Great Britain : 2017 

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has identified three categories of driver as follows; 

1. Compliant drivers (52%)- Drivers that observe speed limits 
2. Moderate speeders (33%)- Drivers that occasionally exceed speed limits 
3. Excessive speeders (15%)- Those who routinely exceed speed limits 

Whilst we as highway authority, through this plan and associated measures, make highway safety a priority, there remains a responsibility on the highway user to travel in a way that ensures the safe passage of themselves and others. 

What speeding includes 

Speeding can include any of the following: 

• Exceedance of the legal speed limit 
• Driving or riding too fast for the road conditions (for example, poor weather, poor visibility, road geometry or when in areas of high pedestrian movement) 
• Accelerating at a velocity which is greater than could typically be expected by other road users. 

All of the above could be classed as dangerous driving.