Contributory Factors In KSI Crashes (Kill and Seriously Injured)
Killed and Serious Injury crashes attract a lot of media attention, understandably so. Emotions run high within victims’ families with outrage and despair in communities.
Out of respect for those victims, past present and future, it is even more important that we gain a correct understanding of the high risk factors involved in these tradgedies because it is all too easy to blame speed lazily, miss the most important lessons and thereby do everybody a disservice.
These charts tells us that the vast majority (85%) of the 217 fatal crashes in 2016, occurred ‘At or Below’ the posted speed limit, that is, at legal speeds. A mere 33 (15%) of these fatal crashes occurred at speeds ‘At or Above’ the posted speed limit
(It is sadly a well known fact that young and inexperienced drivers are over-represented in these KSI accidents, especially young males. Mind Driving author Stephen Haley has written five very thoughtful articles on this that can be downloaded from his Skilldriver website at www.skilldriver.org)
To summarise then, the PRIMARY PRECIPITATING FACTORS in KSI crashes are certainly not exceeding an arbitrary speed limit but invariably include at least one of the following:
Cluster Heading 3: INJUDICIOUS ACTION:
Double White Line Transgression (Factor 303)
Cluster Heading 5 : IMPAIRMENT OR DISTRACTION
Impaired by Alcohol (Factor 502)
Mobile Phone Use (Factor 508)
Cluster Heading 6: BEHAVIOUR OR INEXPERIENCE
Aggressive Driving (Factor 601)
Inexperienced / Unlicensed (Factor 605)
Cluster Heading 8 : SPECIAL CODES
Vehicle Use In Course of Crime (Factor 802)
Stolen Vehicle (Factor 901)
Stolen Vehicles Are A Particular Menace
In respect of the last cluster heading, it is reported that the police detect only 5% of vehicle thefts despite stolen vehicles being involved in a disproportionate number of datal and serious crashes.
Criminals steal cars and share the use of them with their mates as “pool cars”. They drive them on false plates usually whilst disqualified and without insurance. When the car has served its purpose they burn them out and then switch to another vehicle.
The next time you see a police officer pointing a speed gun in your direction and catch you driving marginally over an arbitrary speed limit therefore, maybe ask the officer, respectfully of course, what is their force’s detection rate for car theft, who sets their policing priorities and to whom is the Chief Constable accountable?
A Harrowing Video
This video below depicts many of the classic features of a fatal crash as described above. In this crash two innocent young children die and their poor mother is seriously injured by a driver who had been drinking and was continuously distracted by his phone over several miles.
I despair that this was not the first time this driver had come to police attention. He was known to have driven in this manner before which makes this tragedy a fatal accident waiting to happen.
This is why our Reform 3 shoud be implemented as a matter of priority – no more excuses. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR INTELLIGENCE-LED ROAD TRAFFIC POLICING.
RoadPeace Case Study Spells Out Why Traffic Policing Must Be Retored
Amy Cooper was killed when a driver who should not have been on the road crashed into her motorbike.
Shane Kelk, who had 22 previous convictions, including for driving offences, collided head-on with Amy in Lincolnshire, in 2022. He fled as she lay dying, but was arrested and later jailed for eight years for a range of offences, including causing death by dangerous driving and driving while banned.
Kelk was on licence at the time of the crash. A review shared with Amy’s family showed a catalogue of failings in the probation service’s supervision of Kelk before the collision.
RoadPeace has been supporting Amy Cooper’s family throughout this painful period. Lucy from RoadPeace spoke on ITV News, emphasising the charity’s stance on the urgent need for reform – see the link to the report below.
This devastating tragedy has once again brought to light serious flaws in the justice system’s handling of dangerous driving offenders. Amy’s death at the hands of a banned driver who should have been under stricter supervision has left her family, friends, and community grieving – and demanding change.
Read our blog on this case here: https://www.roadpeace.org/itv-talks-justice-and-accountability-with-roadpeace-following-the-tragedy-of-amy-cooper/
Watch the full ITV News report here: Watch the full interview with ITV News here:
https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2025-03-14/report-finds-failings-in-case-of-banned-driver-left-free-to-kill
How Our Reforms Seek To Achieve What RoadPeace Is Asking For
Our Reform 2 addresses the driving standard issues here whilst Reform 3 addresses the roads policing issues.
Both Reforms are necessary and deserve serious and urgent attention from Transport Ministers prepared to wean themselves off the dangerously simplistic ‘speed kills’ mantra and adopt our comprehensive “Better Driving Saves Lives” approach.
We trust that victims’ charities such as Roadpeace will begin to recognise the shortcomings and superficiality of the “speed kills” orthodoxy and lend their suppport to our more thoughtful ‘Campaign for Safer Roads Through Better Driving’.
The full ABD paper on the Contibutory Factors To Crashes can be downloaded below….