Speed kills?

[MotoGirl]

The only problem i can see is on the 1 lane motorways round nz people will STILL do 80kmph and u may get silly passing manouvers. But then again you cant argue with statistics

It may do, but removing the speed limit would also allow those paranoid people to pass without fear of being stung for speeding (you know, by doing 105kph). I'm sure we've all been stuck behind some old biddy who refuses to pass that vehicle doing 80kph.

[musicman]

I'm doing the speed limit so I don't need to concentrate. Or this is soo boringly slow that I'm nodding off.

The problem lies with the human factor. Bored inattention. Can't legislate on that.

In that case they should have naked female picture billboards every 500m along all the highways/motorways/open roads. Ain't nobody getting bored then!

[Max Preload]

Maybe it means no liquor or pornography while driving or riding. lol.

Bloody nanny state!

[cold comfort]

This document echoes your views regarding the focus solely on reducung speed.

Excellent research-totally backs up other independant US studies. The fact there is no credible evidence to support the draconian imposition of speed cameras/demerit points beggars belief. The approx $350mil extorted from the long suffering motorists in the last decade would have nothing to do with it of course...

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Speed kills?

no... why the shuttle and the astronauts can get up to 18,000 mph and if we did in theory we would be dead...

Applying our circular orbit velocity equation and using the values yields an answer of about 29,795 m/s. In other words, our little planet is whirling around the Sun at an astonishing 66,645 mph! I hope you're wearing your seat belt!

oh wait

But the sudden stop can be a killer... so my theory is just keep going... don't stop... and all will be good..

[Fatjim]

Interesting. 6% of fatal accidents are directly atributal to speed, where the speed was in excess of the limit. Not all these accidents would have been avoided if the parties weren't speeding. So applying that stat to NZ, if everyone obeyed the speed limit 100% of the time we would save around 5% of the road toll or 15-20 lives a year.

However, if we didn't allow foriegners from europe and America, women, asians and drink drivers on the roads we would save a lot more.

I think speed cameras are far more PC than we give them credit for.

[swbarnett]

I think speed cameras are far more PC than we give them credit for.

Pile of Crap?

[Paris]

Amazing stats ... should fire them into the government ... speed can be a problem, isn't it all about control of the machine you are driving .. put a lid on a boiling pot and it bursts off ... impose legislation and fines and stuff over driving speeds and the result could be said to be the same! It's like the 70kmh learner rule .. that's just dangerous I reckon

[Maki]

Just goes to prove that speed DOES kill. It´s just that slow speed is more of a killer than fast speed.

The biggest killer is boredom and inattention. If you are going as fast as you are comfortable with you will be paying attention to are doing. If you are traveling at a speed that feels too slow your attention will inevitably waver with potentially deadly results.

As soon as this basic fact is understood and acted upon road safety will increase. We need to move away from arbitrary speed limits and law enforcement that concentrates on revenue collection more than increasing road safety.

The police need to crack down on incompetent drivers who do not obey traffic rules, those who drive under the influence of drugs and those who can no be arsed to concentrate on what the hell they are doing and talk or text on cell phones instead. That kind of driver is 100% more dangerous than someone who occasionally opens up the throttle on a straight with clear visibility for miles around.

[Maki]

Interesting. 6% of fatal accidents are directly atributal to speed, where the speed was in excess of the limit. Not all these accidents would have been avoided if the parties weren't speeding. So applying that stat to NZ, if everyone obeyed the speed limit 100% of the time we would save around 5% of the road toll or 15-20 lives a year.

However, if we didn't allow foriegners from europe and America, women, asians and drink drivers on the roads we would save a lot more.

I think speed cameras are far more PC than we give them credit for.

6% are attributable to speed. That makes 94% not attributable to speed. So you think there would be 5% fewer fatalities if no one speeds? I suspect the road toll would be higher if everyone slavishly sticks to the speed limits. A boredom induced coma would soon arise and the thing they know they could be waking up in hospital or worse.

What about the other 94%? How many of those could have been avoided if the drivers were speeding? I suspect many of those accidents happened because the drivers were not paying ATTENTION to what they were doing. Maybe they would have been more alert if they had been speeding.

[Monsterbishi]

It doesn't matter who quotes what statistic, Speed Kills, the faster you go, the less capable your vehicle becomes at both stopping and turning.

The faster you go, the more damage you will suffer, and cause.

This retarded thread pops up every few months, supported by those who seek justification for their speeding, where there is none.

[Pumba]

Speed Kills

Ive never had a problem with speed, its generally the sudden stopping that causes issues.

Nothing new in the information posted, however legislaters continue to ignore facts, surprise, surprise.

[Daffyd]

Below is a letter I wrote to NZ Autocar a few years ago, that won the letter of the month. The editor's reply was that I was right on the mark!
Some of you may remember the case.

"I watched CSU on TV recently where a cyclist was fatally injured when he was hit from behind by a car. The outcome was that while the motorist was not charged with speeding, he was convicted of careless driving. He admitted that he took his eyes off the road to check his speedometer and veered off course enough to hit the cyclist. This is a perfect example of a normally safe driver being so afraid of being pinged for speeding that he spent too much time looking at his speedo instead of the road. If he had kept his eyes on the road his speed may have crept up a little, maybe to 110k/h, but he would have seen the cyclist.
This backs up a theory of mine that many accidents are caused by this problem and that most drivers drive at a safe speed. The odd lunatic that drives way too fast will do so anyway, regardless of road conditions. I believe speed limits should be much more relaxed, so that drivers aren't looking over their shoulders all the time watching for big brother.

One US state (California, I think) has raised the speed limits and the road toll immediately came down. I understand one Australian state is considering doing the same, as there has been little or no improvement in the road toll since they introduced the current limits.

Comment has also been made in the UK that the lowered speed limits are not working. In fact the road toll has increased significantly since then."

[Jantar]

It doesn't matter who quotes what statistic, Speed Kills, the faster you go, the less capable your vehicle becomes at both stopping and turning.

The faster you go, the more damage you will suffer, and cause.

This retarded thread pops up every few months, supported by those who seek justification for their speeding, where there is none .

Everything you say is correct. Yet more accidents happen at lower speeds than at higher speeds. Yes when a high speed accident happens, it is more likely to result in death and injury, yet all the research shows that fewer accidents occur. By reducing the number of accidents that occur in the first place there is a much greater effect in reducing fatalities.

I am not advocating that we should blast around everywhere at 160 kmh plus, but rather that a speed appropriate to the conditions is safer than an arbitrary limit.

[Max Preload]

It doesn't matter who quotes what statistic, Speed Kills, the faster you go, the less capable your vehicle becomes at both stopping and turning.

The faster you go, the more damage you will suffer, and cause.

What a load of regurgitated fucking brainwash drivel. You have to crash, not just speed, moron.