The driving habits of Cochranites have certainly become a hot topic of late.
It seems the manner in which people drive has always been a cause for concern for many motorists, and, as most are aware (and would hopefully admit), has been the root of many ‘road-rage’ meltdowns from several, if not all, motorists.
Driving habits are one of the most talked about daily activities in any community, and Cochrane is no different.
We have had letters to the editor about ‘bad’ drivers, and there is even a local Facebook group, Cochrane rants and raves, that is often dedicated to posting grievances about ‘bad’ drivers and people who can’t (or chose not to) park within a dedicated parking space.
In most cases, people get frustrated with drivers who drive too fast, follow too closely or accelerate too quickly. These complaints are of course very justified. No one wants to have people ripping through their neighbourhood at high speeds putting others in danger.
What does not get talked about, however, are motorists who drive excessively slow, are not attentive when operating a vehicle, disobey (or do not understand) road signs or simply create hazardous situations by being overly cautious.
(An example of this is people who drive through the Mitford School zone during the summer, on weekends and evenings after 9 p.m. going 30 km/hr when the sign clearly states that it is a school zone only on school days from 7 a.m. – 9 p.m.)
Whether people like to admit it or not, this is an issue and does cause hazardous situations. People on both sides of the driving spectrum can have an equally dangerous effect on our roads.
Removing those who chose to do the inexcusable and drive while intoxicated out of the equation, accidents are not always caused by excessive speeds, they are also caused by unconfident drivers, who either do not possess the proper skills or self-assurance to operate a vehicle.
Those who are unable to operate a vehicle at the posted speed limit, whether that be 50 km/hr in a residential zone or 110 km/hr on the Trans-Canada Highway, should not be on the road.
The same goes for those who drive at excessive speeds. If you are careless enough of other people’s safety that you rip through a neighbourhood at 80 km/hr, you should not only pay a fine, you should be given a warning that if you continue to drive recklessly (say, for example you get three fines for the same offence) you will lose your ‘privilege’ to drive for a period of time.
On the other hand, there has, unfortunately, been a growing contingent in many communities that if you drive 50 km/hr in a 50-km/hr zone you are driving too fast and putting people in danger.
Under ideal road conditions, you are not.
There is a reason there is a posted speed limit and there is also a reason travelling at that posted speed will not result in a speeding ticket from police.
The U.S. Department of Transportation did a study on traffic speeds and the probability of being in a crash.
The study revealed that ‘the risk of having a crash is increased both for vehicles travelling slower than the average speed, and for those travelling above the average speed.’
The study also says that those who travel speeds much faster than the median speed were at a higher risk of being injured.
Many areas in the world not only have speed ‘limits’ but also minimum speeds a vehicle can travel. Why? Because driving too slowly can be dangerous.
Germany, where speed limits on its motorways (the Autobahn) are well documented to be unregulated with most vehicles travelling in the area of 130 km/hr, has some of lowest road fatalities in the world. Measured in fatalities per one billion vehicle kilometres travelled, Germany sits at 4.9 traffic-related deaths, while Canada’s is at 6.1 and the U.S. 7.6.
With a population of over 80 million, there were 3,520 traffic-related fatalities in Germany last year. Comparatively, Canada had 2,075 with a population just above 35 million, which is a higher percentage than in Germany.
Norway, which has the lowest traffic-related deaths per one billion kilometres travelled, enforces its laws rigorously and has much stricter drinking and driving laws, only permitting a blood-alcohol level of .01.
Brazil has the worst record when it comes to traffic deaths, with 56 fatalities per billion kilometres travelled.
According to a BBC article, around 40,000 people die on Brazilian roads each year, and the main reasons for the astronomical amount of traffic deaths is due to poor driving conditions, inexperienced drivers and drinking and driving. Brazil’s speed limits are not dissimilar to Canada’s, with highways ranging from 110-120 km/hr and urban roads 50-60 km/hr.
So, does speed kill? Sometimes, but more often it’s a lack of driving skill that’s more dangerous.
