The connections between speed and safety risk are clear cut.

1. Driving at speed increases the time and distance it takes a vehicle to slow down – increasing the risk of a collision.
2. Driving at speed increases the force of impact and so the likelihood of injury.
3. 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.