Fatal Four
There are four main causes of fatal and serious injury collisions, which are widely known as the ‘Fatal 4’. The partnership aims to use education and enforcement to change driver behaviour and make these behaviours socially unacceptable.
- Speed limits should not be seen as a target.
- Always drive according to the weather and road conditions, which is often much slower than the speed limit. In a collision, speed can be the difference between injury and death.
- The partnership runs campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding. Warwickshire Police continue to conduct speed checks across the county on a regular basis, complemented by our Community Speed Watch volunteers.
- Drugs and alcohol can affect all aspects of your driving.
- Drugs and alcohol reduce coordination, your ability to judge speed and impair your perception of obstacles. On top of this, drink and drugs can give you a false sense of confidence, making you more likely to take risks.
- Please remember you may still be over the drink drive limit the morning after you have been drinking, as it can take many hours for your body to process the alcohol, even if you feel fine.
- The partnership supports national anti-drink- and drug-driving campaigns led by the National Police Chiefs Council to change behaviour and bring persistent offenders to justice. Every week, officers arrest suspected drunk or drug drivers following a positive roadside breath test or drug swipe.
- Using a mobile phone whilst driving makes you four times more likely to be in a collision. This is because you are less likely to notice and react to hazards on the roads.
- The Open University have created a resource which shows how distractions affect your driving. Click the link here to have a go.
- The partnership is working hard to make using a handheld mobile phone whilst driving as socially unacceptable as drink driving. Warwickshire Police continue to educate and enforce the legislation around mobile phones, supported by partners.
- Seatbelts save lives. You are twice as likely to die in a crash if you don’t wear one. It is also important that children are secured in car seats correctly and safely.
- Whilst the majority of Warwickshire drivers continue to wear seatbelts on every journey, there are still a surprising number of people who choose to risk their lives by not wearing one. The partnership runs awareness campaigns to help change the attitudes of the minority. Partners also organise events for parents to have their child’s car seats checked to ensure they are correctly fitted.
For more information on the work we are doing to reduce the fatal four, visit our operations and community speed watch pages.
For more information about the penalties of the fatal four and other driving offences, please click here.
