Speed <> Death

Speed does not equal death. Speed is an important part of safe driving but not in the way most will have you believe. There are different aspects to speed and road safety, but the underlying fact is that there's a "safe" speed range for every situation*.


So what is the safest speed at which to drive?

If you said 0km/h you are wrong and have a dangerous position on road safety. You are probably a mother of 4 who enforces a no alcohol, no swearing, no boyfriends and no going out after 8pm policy. 0km/h is possibly the most dangerous speed to be traveling unless you are in a designated parking spot.

The safest speed is a calculation of what is around you and calculating that speed is probably the most important part of driving. It takes experience, anticipation, good eyes, alert brain and a familiarity with your car and the road rules.

On a road with heavy traffic, the most appropriate speed is often the same speed as the other cars. In this case it is not so much the speed at which you travel but the distance from other cars. In heavy traffic the most likely accident is a collision with another car. To minimise the probability of that happening you should reduce your speed relative to the cars around you (ie. travel at the same speed as the traffic). This will keep a constant gap between you and the cars in front, behind and in other lanes. If you are traveling faster than the car in front you run the risk of hitting them at speed if they stop unexpectedly. If you are traveling slower then the car in front, cars behind will want to overtake you, a large gap will form ahead of you encouraging cars in other lanes to move in front of you and the cars will always be coming from behind (making you more reliant on your mirrors and situational awareness), giving you less time watching the car(s) in front and watching for possible hazards on the road ahead.

On a road with light traffic, the most appropriate speed is one where you are capable of analysing the road ahead for plausible hazards and avoiding such hazards with a significant margin for error. These hazards could be a child chasing a ball onto the road, cars running red lights, pedestrians stepping out from behind parked cars, a car entering from a blind driveway, gravel on the road, cyclists swerving to avoid rough road, etc. Finding the right speed in this environment is about risk analysis. Finding the plausible risks and safeguarding against them.

On the open road, an appropriate speed is one which suits the character of the road. This is simpler because the main risks are leaving the road, hitting wildlife and hitting oncoming traffic.

- Hitting wildlife is sometimes unavoidable. The chances can be reduced by being alert, recognising places from where wildlife may run onto the road and choosing a good speed for blind corners. Often your speed is irrelevant to whether or not you hit the animal but it (along with your reactions, braking and steering technique) will decide how much damage is done.

- Hitting oncoming traffic is again sometimes unavoidable. You reduce the risk of it happening by being alert, recognising where a head on collision may occur and having a plan to avoid it. Again the speed will be a minor factor in whether you hit or not... but it (along with your reactions, whether you panic, braking and steering techniques) will decide the damage done.

- Leaving the road can be caused by a multitude of things. The most common are a lapse in concentration, avoiding wildlife, misjudging a corner and unexpected change in road condition.

Lapse in concentration: is by far the most probable and often drugs (including alcohol) and fatigue are major (if not sole) factors.
Avoiding wildlife: No-one should ever leave the road and crash when avoiding wildlife! If the driver is properly alert and prepared mentally (and has a good familiarity with the handling characteristics of the car) they should be able to make a sound decision on what action to take when confronted by wildlife on the road... either to wear the damage and hit the animal or find a safe path around it either on the other side of the road or off the road. An accident should never start with an animal on the road and end with a car in a tree.
Finding an appropriate speed for a corner requires knowledge of the car, your skills and an analysis of the character of the corner...
+ can you see around it?
   + does it have leaves, water, gravel or anything slippery on it?
     + are there driveways or side-roads near it?
     + does it open or tighten?
   + is it narrow?
+ are there escape routes if you encounter something unexpected?

These are all things to think about when deducing an appropriate speed. Take note of road-signs but dont trust them. They were put there months if not years ago and they dont change with the current condition of the road. And remember to always leave a significant margin for error... assume that you've over-estimated the perfect speed and drop 10km/h to give more room to move. If you enter a corner too fast it does not mean instant death, but it severely reduces your options, stopping capability, choice of line (positioning on the road) around the corner and time to react.

Finding a safe speed is not about slowing to walking pace. It's about analysing the situation*, conducting the risk analysis on-the-fly and adjusting your speed accordingly. So the next time someone says speed = death, take their car keys and flush them down the toilet. Same applies for people who disregard their surroundings (and the risks associated with driving) and fly down the road. These people are a danger to everyone on the road, themselves most of all!
I wish more people would consider their driving more.



* A situation is an all-encompassing combination of the condition of the road, your car, the cars around you, the attitude of other road users, the speed of other vehicles, the proximity of roadside objects (including parked cars), the proximity of side-roads or driveways, etc.