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Friday, April 28, 2006

 

Why 'speeding' is plain wrong

Let's define terms - by speeding we mean to say excessive, deliberate or inadvertent velocity beyond a posted speed limit. Legally it's anything above the speed limit, be it 1kmh or 5 kmh. But let's be generous and define excessive speed at anything beyond 5kmh above; although a case could be put for 10kmh, or perhaps more logically a 5-10% buffer above the posted limit. I'd recommend no more than 5% myself and would back 100% compliance if pushed, but it's open for debate. I'm simply allowing for some variation in attention, practical effects imposed by local hills (both going up and down) and inaccuracy in speedometers.

OK, so why is excessive speeding bad? Plenty of people do it. I stick pretty rigidly to the limit, as do most people, by what I see. But maybe 30% of drivers either miss a sign or choose to ignore it. By that I mean 60-70 in a 50kmh zone (past my house!) is pretty common. And 120-130 in a 100kmh zone, for another example. Hey, it happens, sure. Sometimes you just have to get someplace and are running late. But do you understand the risks and the impact on others, or do you just think the law's an ass and out to get you for no good reason?

Here are my top reasons to slow down and stick to the posted limit:

1. Traffic is more predictable when it flows at the same rate; by speeding at whatever rate you choose you are by nature unpredictable and are the cause of disturbance and risk to all traffic. Don't let anyone tell you it's 'safer' to speed, no matter what the stats supposedly say! (There are lies, damned lies and statistics... you can correlate something with anything if you try hard enough!)
2. Other drivers cannot as easily judge a speeding vehicle's closing distance and will seemingly jump out in front of you at intersections and make 'sudden' and inopportune lane changes or other manoeuvers. Slow down, let people come out of their driveways and intersections without having to guess what speed you may have chosen today. Let me guess, currently you are blaming them for your poor judgement!
3. Speeding screws up the traffic; by gaining on the cars ahead you eventually meet them and cluster in a group, forming an unnecessary bottleneck, especially when a hazard or delay is reached. Why not stay back, don't gain on those ahead, stay at the same pace and let the traffic flow?
4. By speeding you reduce your reaction time to the unexpected. Unless you are on a road with no other traffic, no potholes, no animals, no driveways, no intersections and no other unexpected obstacles, what makes you think it's safe to choose any speed you like?
5. Faster means more energy expended; so not only are you burning more gas and making more air and noise pollution you have raised the energy level in any collision that occurs. Instead, slow down, reduce the cost of your travel and reduce any impacts that may occur. Don't imagine it's more 'efficient' to go faster - any open road gains are lost above about 80kmh and in city driving any speed gained in quickly lost as heat when you apply the brakes for the next red light. Slow down, anticipate traffic flows and see the $ benefit yourself!
6. Other people live here too. Just because you can get away with it, why is it right to speed past other people's homes, workplaces, parks or whatever? It may seem 'safe' but only because other people fear death or injury and have learned to lock their kids and pets away from the roads and to shut doors and windows to keep the noise and fumes out
7. In summary, speeding is plain selfish and simply bad manners - why do you think that you can cause disruption to traffic, get ahead of everyone else, cause undue noise and fear and raise the risk of injury for everyone?

In answer to that last question, you are probably not even thinking about it, just doing what you see done to you. Whilst we respect each other when we meet face to face and usually don't push into queues, when sealed in our steel capsules the normal rules and niceties go out the window and it's open season on civilised behaviour. Why not set an example and buck the trend?

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