The facts
Speed is one of the main causes of fatal road collisions.
3,000 people a year are killed or seriously injured in speed-related crashes.
A pedestrian hit by a car at 40mph is four times more likely to die than one hit at 30mph.
The law
You must not drive faster than the speed limit for the type of road and your type of vehicle.
Many people don’t know the speed limits for different vehicles on different roads. See the national speed limits.
The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and 3 penalty points on your licence.
You could be disqualified from driving if you build up 12 or more penalty points within three years.
The advice
the difference of a few miles per hour can mean the difference between life and death. The faster you drive, the less time you have to stop.
the speed limit is a maximum not a target. In some conditions, like fog, rain or heavy traffic, even driving at the speed limit is too fast.
think about the consequences of causing a collision by speeding: you will have to live with the emotional consequences of causing death or injury.
See speeding safety advice from the government
More than a quarter of deaths on the road involve a speeding driver, and many serious and fatal collisions happen when drivers go through traffic lights on red.
Where possible Local Authorities will try things like speed humps, vehicle activated signs that show a motorist’s actual speed, rumble strips, or chicanes to slow traffic down before using a safety camera.
But if other methods don’t work, safety cameras are a valuable and cost-effective way to discourage people from speeding or jumping traffic lights, and to identify drivers who ignore the warnings.
So they work in two ways: by actually slowing traffic at dangerous points to reduce the risk of collisions at the time, and by catching offending drivers so that they will be less likely to drive dangerously in the future.
Find out more about what happens if you have been caught by a safety camera.
Locating the cameras
The law gives local authorities and safety organisations responsibility for installing and operating cameras. They are put in places where statistics show a high number of collisions and casualties.
Before installing permanent cameras we work in Partnership with Local Authorities to reduce risks first by other traffic-calming measures or by using temporary or mobile cameras. The cost of installing a new safety camera must be paid for by the Local Authority.
For more information on camera locations, read our where are safety cameras? page.
Do cameras work?
The only purpose of safety cameras is to reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on our roads. Between 2014 and 2016 the number of people killed or seriously injured at Greater Manchester locations with safety cameras was 34 per cent lower than between 2007 and 2009.
Nationally, a review of more than 4,000 cameras over four years showed:
- the number of speeding vehicles fell by 70 per cent.
- the number of people killed or seriously injured fell by 42 per cent
- there was a 32 per cent reduction in the number of children killed and seriously injured.
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Learn more about getting to Co-op Live
Travel included with Co-op Live tickets
Co-op Live ticket holders can travel on the tram and new city centre shuttle buses.
-
Learn more about new Starling Bank Bikes
New sponsor: Starling Bank Bikes
We’re delighted to welcome Starling Bank on board as the new sponsors of our bike hire scheme.
-
Rate your journey
Rate your journey
We want to hear your views to help us deliver a better Bee Network for Greater Manchester.
-
Learn more about the Bee Network
Say yellow to the Bee Network
Buses in Oldham, Rochdale and parts of Bury, Salford and north Manchester joined the Bee Network on 24 March.
-
Find full details of the bus routes, ticket fares and timetables
Manchester City Matchday Buses
We've teamed up with Manchester City to launch a large-scale bus trial helping fans from across Greater Manchester and nearby areas to travel to and from the Etihad Stadium on a matchday.
-
Find out about planned works on the tram
Planned engineering works on Metrolink
Visit our dedicated webpage to find out how the works could affect your journeys.