Selwyn_Times: August 30, 2023

Selwyn Times Wednesday August 30 2023
18
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Slower speeds
save lives
Selwyn District Council
SPEED ISN’T always the cause
of a crash, but it is one of the
primary reasons people are dying
on our roads.
Over the last five years, 100
per cent of all fatalities in Selwyn
occurred on roads with speed
limits over 70km/h. This doesn’t
mean these crashes were caused
by exceeding the speed limit, it
means in many cases the speed at
the point of impact was too great
for the occupants to survive the
crash.
Ask yourself, if someone runs
a stop sign in front of you, what
speed would you prefer to crash
into them? If someone crosses the
centreline in front of you, what
speed would you prefer to drive
head on into them? While speed
wasn’t the cause, it will determine
whether you will live or survive
with injuries after a crash.
A child does something
unexpected and you have to
brake suddenly; what speed
would you prefer to be travelling?
As your chosen speed increases,
your reaction time decreases,
your stopping distance increases,
and your speed at impact will
determine if the child lives or
dies.
Human nature is to make
mistakes, but these mistakes
shouldn’t cost us our lives.
There is significant research
that indicates what speeds should
be travelled for the best chance
of survival when a crash occurs,
and they aren’t the speeds we are
currently travelling.
The speeds featured in the
following diagram have a 90 per
cent survival rate. Increase the
speed and the chance of survival
decreases significantly.
SLOWING DOWN: Making a conscious effort to reduce your speed slightly could result in
avoiding a crash entirely.
PHOTO: SDC
All drivers are directly
responsible for the speed in
which they travel. Making a
conscious effort to reduce your
speed slightly could result in
avoiding the crash altogether, or
surviving if the crash occurs.
There has been a lot of media
attention around the road to zero
and the reduction of speed limits.
Selwyn is not immune to this.
The district council is legally
required to submit a plan to
Waka Kotahi New Zealand
Transport Agency outlining how
we intend to reduce our speed
limits, and therefore save lives.
The Selwyn District’s Speed
Management Plan will be out for
public consultation in October,
and we encourage everyone to
review it and provide feedback.
Most drivers are critical of
others and think it’s everyone
else’s behaviour on the roads
that’s the issue. It’s time for us
all to examine our own driving
habits and behaviours.
We can reduce speed limits,
enforce, and educate, but you are
in control of the vehicle and the
lives of those around you. Drive
like other road users are your
family.
Plan ahead, stay alert, slow
down, drop back.
SPEED
Not the cause but the KILLER