Speed kills, or does it.

[obi_waynne]

Road safety campaigners have been chanting "speed kills"

So I thought we drivers could discuss the mantra "speed kills"...

Does it really or are there other major factors at play here?

Convince me either way then...

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

I think that the powers that be say "speed kills" because it is easy to say and can be policed with mobile and fixed radar BUT to my way of thinking it is incompetence, stupidity, inattention , alcohol and drugs that cause way more carnage than speed itself.

All crashes involve speed of some description usually in the wrong place and it can kill due the very sudden stop when one hits a solid object or oncoming vehicle.

Unfortunately fixed radar does not have the same effect as being stopped by the police and being spoken to about your breaking the rules.

 

[thexav]

It's usually inattention, bad anticipation or lack of concentration. Speed may make these things more likely to have a big effect as there is less margin for error.

On a track, when you are concentrating and on top form you are safer than traveling at legal road speeds IMHO!

 

[obi_waynne]

Is speed always the major factor in a crash? I don't actually think it is. Working in insurance we dealt mainly with low speed shunts and crashes at junctions.

Admittedly deaths were very very rare so I can't actually provide stats that it's speed that kills but I think that is an over generalisation and just slowing up cars will not make the roads safer.

 

[VRoy6]

In my humble opinion, lack of due care and attention give rise to either too slow or too fast a speed and ultimately an incident occurs.
Inexperienced drivers tend to make mistakes understandably. Experienced, (not necessarily older) drivers make wrong decisions. A mixture of both contribute to the problem. I saw it written somewhere:
"Good judgement comes from experience, and experience? That comes from poor judgement." How true is that. Says it all.

 

[obi_waynne]

I think you are spot on there @VRoy6

 

[zoomy]

Inattention distractions and tiredness are the no1 killers on the road, but they are harder to legislate against or regulate.

They'll be happy when we are all driving fully autonomous cars that look after themselves.

 

[VRoy6]

That is just another disaster waiting to happen.

 

[Lunchmoney]

"Speed kills" comes from the fact that at 20mph a person is more likely to survey being hit by a car than 40mph.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Inappropriate speed for prevailing conditions would be a killer in many cases .

For example observe how almost nobody seems to increase the following distance when it is raining ,foggy or snowing IMO many motorists are driving like accidents looking for a place to happen .

 

[thexav]

"Speed kills" comes from the fact that at 20mph a person is more likely to survey being hit by a car than 40mph.

That's also true of falling pianos!

 

[obi_waynne]

@thexav

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

That's also true of falling pianos!

Staying away from Jezza and the rest of the Top Gear crew would be a good way to be safe from falling pianos and cars