
The connections between speed and safety risk are clear cut.
- Driving at speed increases the time and distance it takes a vehicle to slow down – increasing the risk of a collision.
- Driving at speed increases the force of impact and so the likelihood of injury.
- Driving at speed reduces the cone of vision of driving and so increases the likelihood of an unexpected event.
And yet…#SlowDown…it’s a hard sell.
In his brilliant dissection of the underlying causes of automobilism, Wolfgang Sachs says that: “The automobile is much more than a mere means of transportation; rather, it is wholly imbued with feelings and desires that raise it to the level of cultural symbol.” (Sachs, 1984, vii)
Our culture is a high speed one, autos one consequence of that. We ignore cultural issues at our peril.