{"id":671,"date":"2025-03-08T15:15:53","date_gmt":"2025-03-08T15:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/betterdrivingsaveslives.co.uk\/?page_id=671"},"modified":"2025-03-29T10:15:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T10:15:23","slug":"conclusions-we-can-draw","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/betterdrivingsaveslives.co.uk\/?page_id=671","title":{"rendered":"Insights Into KSI Crashes (Killed & Seriously Injured)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Contributory Factors In KSI Crashes (Kill and Seriously Injured)<\/strong>

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span><\/span><\/strong>These charts tells us that the vast majority (85%) of the 217 fatal crashes in 2016, occurred \u2018At or Below\u2019 the posted speed limit, that is, at legal speeds. A mere 33 (15%) of these fatal crashes occurred at speeds \u2018At or Above’ the posted speed limit<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(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)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cluster Heading 3:  INJUDICIOUS ACTION:<\/span>
Double White Line Transgression (Factor 303)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cluster Heading 5 : IMPAIRMENT OR DISTRACTION<\/span>
Impaired by Alcohol (Factor 502)
Mobile Phone Use (Factor 508)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cluster Heading 6: BEHAVIOUR OR INEXPERIENCE<\/span>
Aggressive Driving (Factor 601)
Inexperienced \/ Unlicensed (Factor 605)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cluster Heading 8 : SPECIAL CODES<\/span>
Vehicle Use In Course of Crime (Factor 802)
Stolen Vehicle (Factor 901)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stolen Vehicles Are A Particular Menace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n

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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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Harrowing Video<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.

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