Air Ambulance urges drivers to talk about speed to help save more lives

Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) is calling on drivers to consider how fast they drive in order to help save more lives as part of the Road Safety Week ‘Let’s talk about SPEED’, campaign 19-25 November 2023, organised by road safety charity Brake.
By Gavin SherriffContributor
Published 17th Nov 2023, 10:18 BST
Updated 17th Nov 2023, 10:20 BST
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Five people die on UK roads every day, and one in four fatal crashes involve someone driving too fast.

By supporting Road Safety Week, KSS aims to help get people talking about speed so that more people are aware of the dangers and increased risk of death or injury that it can cause. This will help to create safer roads for everyone.

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RTCs account for around 30% of the incidents attended by the charity’s lifesaving crews.

KSS crew at a simulated road traffic collision during trainingKSS crew at a simulated road traffic collision during training
KSS crew at a simulated road traffic collision during training

So far this year KSS has treated over 600 patients involved in road traffic collisions (RTCs) across Kent, Surrey and Sussex, that’s around 14 people a week.

Allan McHenry, Assistant Director of Service Delivery at KSS, said: “We know that there is a direct relationship between the speed of an object and how much energy it imparts to the object it collides with. The greater the energy, the greater the damage to whatever it strikes. 

“So, the higher the speed of a vehicle, the longer the stopping distance, the harder the impact, and the greater the risk of death and injury. That’s why we’re so committed to supporting Road Safety Week and helping to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding.

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David Welch, Chief Executive of KSS, said: “Road traffic collisions remain one of the most frequent types of incidents we attend, with our crew delivering lifesaving care to around 14 patients involved in RTCs each week.

A KSS helicopter attending a road traffic collisionA KSS helicopter attending a road traffic collision
A KSS helicopter attending a road traffic collision

“We want to help get people talking about speed during Road Safety Week, and understanding the increased dangers, so that we can help to create safer roads which will undoubtedly help to save more lives.”

Road Safety Week facts:

  • Every year, more than 1,600 people are killed on UK roads and more than 25,000 people suffer serious injuries.

  • Five people die on UK roads every day.

  • Most speeding occurs on urban roads (50%), motorways (45%) and rural road (11%).

  • A crash at 30mph is twice as likely to cause severe injury than a crash at 20mph.

(Source: Brake)

It costs £45K a day to deliver KSS’ lifesaving service and, as a charity, we can only do this thanks to the generosity of our supporters. Without our supporters we can’t keep flying, without our supporters we can’t save lives.

Related topics:KSSAir ambulance