Quote:
Originally Posted by AudioPhewl /img/forum/go_quote.gif
stick quite closely to the speed limits. And religiously-so in 30 and 40mph limits. Pisses me off when I see folk tear-arsing it in a residential area... they have no concept of what a difference 50% on top of the speed limit makes to reaction times and stopping distances where there are likely to be, shall we say "careless folk" around on foot and pushbikes.
~Phewl.
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Indeed, I (genuinely) applaud your restraint in urban driving, - some interesting stuff from ROSPA
Drivers travelling at higher speeds have less time to identify and react to what is happening around them. It takes longer for the vehicle to stop. Any resulting crash is more severe, causing greater injury to the occupants and to any pedestrian or rider hit by the vehicle.
Driving too fast for the conditions is a major cause of crashes. Excessive speed contributes to 12% of all injury collisions, 18% of crashes resulting in a serious injury and 28% of all collisions which result in a fatality. This means that around 1,000 people are killed each year on Britain’s roads because drivers and riders travel too fast.
Approximately two-thirds of all crashes in which people are killed or injured happen on roads with a speed limit of 30 mph or less. At 30 mph vehicles are travelling at 44 feet (about 3 car lengths) each second. One blink and the driver may fail to see the early warning brake lights; one short glance away and the tell-tale movement of a child behind a parked car will be missed.
Even in good conditions, the difference in stopping distance between 30 mph and 35 mph is an extra 21 feet, more than 2 car lengths. At 35 mph a driver is twice as likely to kill someone as they are at 30 mph.
• Hit by a car at 40 mph, 9 out of 10 pedestrians will be killed
• Hit by a car at 30 mph, about half of pedestrians will live.
• Hit by a car at 20 mph, only 1 out of 10 pedestrian will be killed.
Unfortunately, most drivers exceed the speed limit at some time. Over half (53%) of car drivers, 48% of motorcyclists and 49% of HGV drivers exceed the 30mph speed limit in urban areas. On 40mph roads, over one quarter (27%) of car drivers and 36% of motorcyclists exceed the 40mph speed limit.4
Around 45% of fatal and serious road casualties, and 54% of fatalities, occur on rural roads. The reduction of casualties on these types of road has been much slower than on urban roads.
Reducing the average running speed of vehicles by just 1 mph would reduce the number of accidents by 5%. The reduction varies according to road type:
• 6% for urban main roads and residential roads with low average speeds;
• 4% for medium speed urban roads and lower speed rural main roads; and
• 3% for the higher speed urban roads and rural single carriageway main roads.
The greatest benefit would come from reducing the speeds of the faster drivers:
• if the proportion of speeders doubles, accidents go up by 10%;
• if their average speed goes up by 1mph, and all else is held constant, accidents go up by 19%; and
• if an individual drives more than 10 - 15% above the average speed of the traffic around them, they are much more likely to be involved in an accident.
Research also shows that drivers who exceed speed limits are more likely to be involved in crashes. They are also more likely to commit other road traffic offences such as close following, red-light running, and drinking and driving.
