Violet's son Steven was killed by a speeding driver. He was 12 years old. The driver who hit him was going above 50mph on a road where the speed limit was 30mph. In this short film by Brake, Violet talks about how Steven's death affected her family.
Why is Brake campaigning for 20mph speed limits?
In 2024, 564 people died on urban roads in Britain, including 281 pedestrians and 40 cyclists. Thousands more were seriously injured [1]. Reducing default speed limits to 20mph on roads in built-up areas will save lives, reduce severe injuries and help more people walk and wheel in safety.
Key facts:
- 185 people died in crashes caused by drivers breaking the speed limit in 2024.
- Speed was a road safety factor* in 59% of road deaths [2].
- Every year, drivers speeding or travelling too fast for conditions contribute to 10,765 crashes, 450 deaths and 4,362 serious injuries.
The faster we drive, the greater our risk of crashing, the harder we hit if we crash, and the greater harm we do.
At lower speeds, stopping distances are reduced: when driving at 30mph, your stopping distance is 23m; at 20mph, your stopping distance is 12m.
Risk of injury increases with higher speeds: a crash at 30mph is twice as likely to cause severe injury than a crash at 20mph.
People who walk and cycle are vulnerable on roads. When we travel at safe speeds, we reduce the risk of road death and injury and we enable more people to make safe and healthy journeys on foot and by bike.
20mph speed limits reduce traffic collisions resulting in death or serious injury. Transport for London reported that traffic collisions resulting in death or serious injury decreased by 25% when 30mph roads were changed to 20mph.
In September 2023, Brake surveyed 2,031 UK drivers to find out what they think about speeding and their attitudes and habits when driving..
Click here to read the survey report
References
- Department for Transport (2025) Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2024 and supporting data sets.
- Department for Transport (2025) Reported road collisions and casualties by severity, road safety factors and road user type, Great Britain, 10 years up to 2024.