Television soap programmes attempt to mirror what goes on in society. Soaps reflect changing attitudes and trends in today's culture, such as teenage pregnancy, drug abuse many other issues.

Over the past few months such programmes have tried to address another concern - the impact of speeding and road safety. There has been a noticeable increase in the number of road deaths and injuries being depicted in the storylines of popular television programmes.

Recently Eastender's Martin Fowler has been at the forefront of one of these storylines.

The episode which saw the death of Jamie Mitchell as a result of Martin's reckless driving undoubtedly carries with it a strong road safety message. Similarly, Coronation Street viewers saw Sarah Louise Platt fighting for her life in Intensive Care after her boyfriend, Ade, lost control of Ken Barlow's car causing it to crash at high speed.

The subject of road safety is of direct relevance to us all as last year over 9000 people were killed or seriously injured on Lancashire's roads. Research indicates that speed is a major contributory factor in around a third of all road crashes. Speed is therefore primarily responsible for at least 1,200 of the deaths and 100,000 injuries that occur on our roads every year.

Drivers need to be aware that cutting their speed by just a few miles per hour could save them or other road users from death or disability.

Driving at an appropriate speed gives you time to predict hazards and prevent dangers from occurring. Driving at 30mph instead of 35mph gives you vital extra seconds in which to react to dangers. Human physiology teaches that the faster you go the less time you have to react, the longer you take to brake, the more liable you are to skid, the harder you hit and the more likely you are to hurt someone.

The Lancashire Partnership for Road safety strives to raise awareness of the consequences of speeding, drink driving and the non wearing of seatbelts in an effort to reduce the number of casualties on our roads and therefore welcomes any medium which helps to inform people about these dangers. Speeding is the most common cause of road crashes.

The Facts:

7 out of 10 drivers regularly break the speed limit.

An average car travelling at 35mph will need an extra 21 feet to stop than one at 30mph.

Hit by a car at 40mph, 9 out of 10 pedestrians will be killed.

It's not the speed that kills, it's the sudden stop. On impact, internal organs and the brain are moving forward at the same speed as before the crash. It follows that organs smashing against the outer skeleton at excessive speed will inevitably suffer severe haemorrhaging.

The consequences of speed related road crashes affect real people and their lives. The Partnership strives to raise awareness of the consequences of speeding to prevent the reality of road deaths and injuries within our communities. Remember - Think! Slow Down.