I WOULD be grateful if you would clarify the speed as a factor in 31 crashes (The Hunts Post, April 15). I am aware that one of the codes for a road traffic collision is excessive speed for the road or conditions. This is not the same as breaking the sp

I WOULD be grateful if you would clarify the 'speed as a factor' in 31 crashes (The Hunts Post, April 15).

I am aware that one of the codes for a road traffic collision is excessive speed for the road or conditions. This is not the same as breaking the speed limit and indicates that the incident did not involve speeding as an offence. It is almost a given that any RTC will involve excess speed: if it did not, then the vehicle involved would have been able to stop or avoid the collision.

Accidents are the result of stupidity or inattention, and lowering of limits will not improve the first and will make the second worse. People who drive too fast for the conditions or their ability will continue to do so. Those forced to travel too slowly will lose concentration and a growing number will suffer frustration, leading to more dangerous overtakes. Compliance will reduce and respect for all limits, and rules of the road will be eroded.

The road safety zealots will use any mention of the word speed in an accident report to include it in their statistics to support ever-lower limits, but nationally speeding is a factor in only about five per cent of serious accidents.

D MANTON

Little Paxton