West Midlands Casualty Reduction Partnership supported a national advertising campaign that explained why the 30mph speed limit exists and the potentially fatal consequences of not abiding by it. The campaign used the strap line 'It's 30 for a reason'.

Billboard (click for PDF)

Posters displayed on billboards and bus backs illustrated that exceeding the 30mph limit greatly increases the risk of killing a pedestrian. The posters showed a child's head split in two with one half showing the skull and the other half showing a healthy 8 year old girl. The two halves demonstrated graphically that the survival rate of a child pedestrian hit by a car travelling at 40mph is just 20% compared to 80% if hit at 30mph.

The posters supported a national television advert which featured the eight year old girl talking directly to the audience and illustrated in a highly visual way the differences between hitting her whilst driving at 40mph versus hitting her at 30mph.

A spokesperson for the Casualty Reduction Partnership said:

"Some 70% of motorists admit to speeding. This is simply not acceptable and I hope that this campaign will bring home the importance of driving within the limit to those who continue to drive too fast. UK roads are amongst the safest in the world, but with more than 3,000 killed every year we need to make them safer. As this campaign shows, every driver can play their part by slowing down a few miles an hour and ensuring they are at or under the speed limit at all times. Those who don't will have to accept that they are at greater risk of causing or being involved in a collision and that if detected speeding they will face prosecution."

For more information on the national campaign, see the THINK! road safety website.