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The
Bear’s View
Speeding
I am beginning to think that the police would do well to adopt a
dark blue Toyota pickup as an unmarked traffic enforcement vehicle.
When I travel back and forth to school each day in mine, I can be
found in the right hand lane driving at the speed limit. Most of
the time, I feel like a rock in the stream with the rest of the
traffic pouring around me as if I am standing still. Does anyone
obey the speed limit these days?
Let’s establish what the speed limit is before we go any
further. Speeding is what is known in law as an absolute liability
offence. You are either speeding, or you are not. There is no
middle ground. When that sign says maximum 90 km/h all I have to do
in a ticket dispute is convince the justice that the disputant’s
speed was more than 90 and the justice may choose to convict. It
doesn’t matter if it is only 91, the offence is made out.
Why is the speed limit a law that normally law abiding drivers
seem never to have heard about? It all comes down to attitude. When
photo radar was being operated in British Columbia, drivers were
told that they would not be ticketed for speeds under 11 km/h above
the speed limit. What drivers heard was that it was acceptable to
drive 10 km/h or less over the speed limit. This message was taken
to heart as I had drivers rage at the side of the road that they
were only doing 10 over and police could not write a ticket for 10
over. Perhaps they should have waited to hear the words “warning
for speeding” pass my lips before they got so wound up?
Ask any driver, and they will tell you that it is probably
acceptable to do 10 over because the police won’t bother you at
that speed. Others find that the speed limit is only a suggestion
when they are in a hurry. If the deadline is pressing, 20 over is
just fine as long as too many slow drivers don’t get in the way.
Then there are the drivers who think that the Autobahn is a great
idea and that they are going to follow the no speed limit rule
whenever it suits them at any speed that suits them.
In fact, a recent survey of Canadian drivers showed they all
felt that traffic safety was a significant concern in their lives.
For the most part, the respondents rated themselves as excellent
drivers or better than average drivers. They also indicated that
they thought all the other drivers were the source of the problem.
I cannot honestly look in the mirror and tell myself that I never
break the traffic rules, and I try hard not to each day.
Go with the flow is a sentiment that is often heard. There is
truth to this as research shows that the flow is in fact the safest
speed to be traveling when you are mixed in with other traffic.
What I resent is that in order to do this, I am forced to break the
speed limit, and hence the law, in order to increase my safety.
What most middle aged drivers seldom stop to consider is that
they are likely at the peak of their driving careers. They have
enough experience to know how to make the best driving decisions
and they are not yet old enough that their minds and bodies have
started to place limits on their thoughts and abilities to operate
a vehicle. These are the drivers that need to realize that they are
the ones who have to slow down. Clearly, the younger and older
drivers cannot be expected to speed up! Slowing down is within the
capabilities of most of us, but speeding up is asking for disaster
from others.
Let’s consider a situation for a moment. You are at a stop sign
trying to enter a heavily traveled highway by making a left hand
turn. Which is easier for you, doing this when everyone is doing 70
to 80 in the 60 zone, or when everyone is doing 60 in the 60 zone?
Obviously, the latter is the easier choice. You have more time to
find a gap and move into it. Aren’t those 10 to 20 over drivers
helpful? Do you think they are concentrating more on their
convenience or your safety? The same situation exists in all
driving circumstances where timing is of the essence.
Bah! Taking 10 over still doesn’t hurt you say? My favorite
traffic safety video is from Australia. It starts out on a stretch
of roadway were two identical drivers are driving two identical
cars side by side. One is doing 60 in the 60 zone and one is doing
65. A sudden change in the road ahead occurs as a large tractor and
van combination crosses at an intersection. Both drivers perceive
the hazard and begin to brake with the maximum force allowed by
physics. The cars wipe off half of their speed in the last five
meters of braking, so the car doing 65 collides at 32 km/h. Yes,
the other car hits the truck too, but only at 5 km/h. So, in this
case, 5 km/h at the start results in a 27 km/h difference at the
impact point.
That 5 over can be all the difference needed when the object you
are colliding with is a pedestrian. The extra 27 km/h could be the
difference between injury and death for them.
So, to borrow a few slogans from our recent provincial road
safety campaign, slow down, chill, take a breath. Here’s hoping
that if you still have to take that five over, you won’t need to
worry about the 27 on the other end.
Questions, comments and topic suggestions for the Bear’s View
are always welcomed by e-mail to bears_view@shaw.ca
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