TTPS QUARTERLY No.1 (1)

isk on a road network. Many of these drivers have often
never been involved in a collision (a noted subjective but
common driver safety performance indicator) thus they
create a logical parallel that their degree of skill and mental
fortitude is what keeps them collision free; hence the lack
of these attributes in other drivers is what causes serious
and fatal accidents…not speed per se.
According to a WHO 2008 report on road traffic deaths and
injury, speeding, also termed excessive speed, driving
above the roadway speed limit or inappropriate speed
(driving too fast for the prevailing conditions) – is identified
as a major contributory factor in both the number and
severity of traffic crashes. The higher a vehicle speed, the
greater the amount of kinetic (moving) energy that must be
absorbed by the impact in a crash therefore becoming a
factor in both crash causality and casualty outcome (i.e.
level of injury severity). Managing vehicles speed in the
roadway network is a critical part of managing collision risk.
The Safe System Approach to road safety has been adopted by
the countries noted for the best road safety performance such as
Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, Germany and the United
Kingdom. The methodology identifies 4 pillars for ensuring a
multi-faceted and holistic approach to managing road risk
namely: 1) Safer Roadway Speeds; 2) Safer Road Users; 3) Safer
Road Designs and; 4) Safer Vehicles. Supporting these pillars is
the element of a robust emergency response system for crash
victims’ access to medical care, thus the capacity and capabilities
of collision response agencies such as the Trinidad and Tobago
Fire Services, Emergency Medical Service and Trinidad and
Tobago Police Service have key roles in road casualty reduction
efforts.
Speeding and the Law
Section 62 (1) of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act
Chapter 48:50 makes it unlawful for a driver to drive a motor
vehicle at a speed greater than that stated in Schedule 2 of the
Road Traffic Act, which lists the speed limits for outside and
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