Why do we still see so many villagers, their friends, their families, their delivery drivers speeding in our village – and what might it mean to us?
Speeding (ie, driving above the speed limits) or inappropriate speed (driving too fast for the prevailing conditions) is unquestionably recognised as a major contributory factor in both the number and severity of traffic crashes.
As a vehicle’s speed increases, so does the distance travelled during the driver’s reaction time and the distance needed to stop. Also, the higher the speed, the greater the amount of ‘energy’ that must be absorbed by the impact in a crash.
In around 40% of fatal crashes, speed is the aggravating factor in the severity of the crash leading to increased fatalities and increased ‘damage’ to pedestrians and cyclists alike.
The average time it takes for most drivers to react to a risky situation on the road is 1.5 seconds. A driver travelling at faster speeds will have covered more ground in between spotting and reacting to a hazard than a driver travelling at a slower speed - so the speeding driver is more likely to crash.
Two similar cars travelling along the same road – Car 1 is doing 30 mph and Car 2 is doing 20. As a child on a bicycle 100 yards away moves from the pavement to the road. Both drivers see your child (or you or your elderly relative) and both take 1.2 seconds before they fully apply their brakes.
The car doing 20mph stops in time but the car travelling at 30mph hits them and they are seriously injured or even dead!
Think about how you would feel and how you would live with the fact that you could have avoided that accident by getting home 60 seconds later than you might.
Think about how the other family feels, think about how your own family feels about you, how your friends and neighbours feel about you!
Do you need to be home 60 seconds earlier?
STOP Speeding in YOUR Community
If you See It, Report It to Stop It
