I WOULD like to respond to last week's letter protesting against a 20mph speed limit around schools, and suggest why lower speed limits are needed.

The loss of lives on our roads is approximately ten daily. Road crashes are the single biggest killer of school age children and speed is the biggest single contributory factor in road crashes.

The relationship between speed and road crashes is straightforward.

As speeds increase, the likelihood and severity of crashes goes up, for any given set of road conditions.

Every 1 mph reduction in speed is accompanied by an average five per cent decrease in crashes and a seven per cent decrease in fatalities.

More than half of accidents where people are injured are in 30mph areas (and more than 70 per cent of drivers break the 30mph limit).

The severity of injuries and number of deaths increase sharply if hit at 40mph; one pedestrian in ten is killed if hit at 20mph while at 40mph nine out of ten are killed.

The road environment must be made safe for all road users if people are to be encouraged to leave the car at home and cycle or walk for the very many short journeys made.

This is not just necessary for our urban roads but in villages and on rural roads where fear of traffic forces people to use their cars for very local trips.

Rural areas are seeing a disproportionate growth in traffic and if nothing is done about the problem of speed, things can only get worse.

JO RIPLEY

Friends of the Earth