THE HIGH IMPACT OF SPEED IN CAR CRASHES

THE HIGH IMPACT OF SPEED IN CAR CRASHES
“Speed kills”, as the many Arrive Alive signs along the highway remind us. And yet many drivers still do, often justifying their reasons for doing so. Yet the impact speed can have in car crashes is huge.
Many people think that speeding will help them reach their destination faster. However, the time saved is often minimal compared to the safety risks involved. While drivers are responsible for their actions, we also need to think about how roads are designed, city planning decisions, and the rules about speeding.
In this article, we will be referring to the “Guide for Safe Roads” study released by the World Bank Group. They have proposed a Roads-For-Life framework that prioritises the safety of the most vulnerable road users.

DO FAST SPEEDS MEAN FASTER TRAVEL TIME?
There are many reasons why people speed – none of them justified. People think that driving faster will allow them to reach their destination sooner. This may only be true in specific scenarios, but in reality, speeding will likely only delay your travel time.
By increasing speed by “just” 1 km/h, the risk for injury is increased by 3%, while risk of death rises to 4-5%. And 1 km/h seems like an amount that sounds almost trivial. As speed increases, the chance of a crash exponentially rises. When a crash happens in traffic, it causes congestion, which slows down traffic and increases travel time for everyone.
Another aspect to consider is that roads are designed with the number of vehicles and the speed of the road in mind. By exceeding the speed limit determined for that part of the road will result in a bottleneck in traffic. During peak times this brings the flow of traffic to a glacial crawl. Sometimes completely halting it altogether.
Speeding also makes roads a more hostile environment for pedestrians and cyclists. As they are more vulnerable road users, it puts them at greater risk of injury or death. The result is a heavier reliance on vehicles as a mode of transport, adding more vehicles to the flow of traffic.
Speeding is selfishly motivated, while road safety actions are for the good of the community. By rushing to get to work on time, drivers are ignoring the greater good. This impacts all users on the road and contributes to slowing everyone down, often including themselves. Better self-planning goes a long way to ensuring the safety of everyone and ourselves.

HOW SPEED INFLUENCES THE OUTCOME OF A CAR CRASH
When we see someone speeding down the highway in a sports car, we often shake our heads at their irresponsible behaviour. But, when we get a speeding ticket for going just 5 km/h over the limit, we might feel frustrated and think it’s unfair. But any amount of speeding can have serious consequences.
The faster we drive, the less time we have to understand what’s happening around us. This reduces our ability to make good decisions and react safely, especially when time is short. As speed increases, our field of vision narrows, making it hard to see anything but the road right in front of us. A good driver knows that being aware of everything around the car is crucial for safety, and this awareness decreases as we speed up.
At higher speeds, the distance needed to stop a vehicle increases. For example, a car travelling at 30 km/h requires only 14 metres to stop, while at 65 km/h, it needs 44 metres. This means that drivers going faster have less time and space to react and avoid a collision.
The speed of a vehicle greatly affects the risk of injury or death when it hits a pedestrian. For instance, if a car hits a pedestrian at 30 km/h, there’s a 13% chance of serious injury or death. But, if the car is going 60 km/h, that chance jumps to 73%.
For passengers in a vehicle, the force of a collision is much greater at higher speeds, which greatly reduces their chance of survival.
Modern technology in cars can make drivers feel safer and more in control. Yet, this can create a false sense of security, leading some to believe that speeding is now safer. In reality, technology doesn’t prevent human error or improve our judgement in a crash. While drivers might feel more secure, it doesn’t reduce the higher risk of collisions for pedestrians and other road users caused by speeding.

ROADS-FOR-LIFE FRAMEWORK
When setting speed limits, decision-makers usually focus on the needs of motor vehicles. These decisions often aim to improve traffic flow and efficiency for vehicles. This often means that the safety of other road users, like pedestrians and cyclists, becomes a lower priority.
Speed limits are also often based around the “85th percentile” method. This bases speed limits on a desired speed that 85% of motorists will observe. However, the “desired speed” of an individual driver is often subjective. It does not take into account all the benefits of driving at a lower speed. This means that even speeds that most people consider appropriate, are higher than what could be considered objectively safe.
The Roads-For-Life framework proposes that to minimise the impact of speeding and make the roads safer for everyone, we must prioritise the safety of everyone using the road. Especially the most vulnerable road users such as the elderly, children and women.
To determine the survivable impact speed of a road it considers the following factors:
● The characteristics of a road, including the surrounding activities and the use of the road
● The space required for users in specific cases such as around schools, hospitals or high pedestrian areas
● The type of road users and traffic
● Infrastructure quality and design

SAFE SPEED LIMITS FOR DIFFERENT ROAD TYPES
The Road-For-Life framework categorises road sections into 4 main types.
● Shared Roads: These are roads used by both vehicles and pedestrians, such as those in housing complexes, school properties, retirement villages, and gated communities. Because these roads have many vulnerable users, like pedestrians, their safety should be a top priority. The maximum safe speed limit for shared roads should be 10 km/h.
● Urban Human Activity Roads/City Hubs: These are roads in cities and towns where people live, work, and socialise. They have a high number of pedestrians moving around, such as roads near schools, residential neighbourhoods, transport hubs like bus stations, and areas with shops, markets, bars, and cafes. The suggested safe speed limit for these areas is 30 km/h. If higher speeds are needed, there should be separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists to ensure their safety.
● Urban Main Roads: roads that connect cities and towns to the greater transport network. These support the higher demand for moving goods and people. The suggested safe speed for these roads is 30-50 km/h. The higher speed of 50 km/h is only recommended if there are good pavements and fewer pedestrian crossings, ensuring that vulnerable road users are kept separate from traffic.
● Urban Link Roads: This includes roads such as highways which connect different districts and are primarily for the movement of goods and people. These roads feature no pedestrians and cyclists. They also alleviate the need for traffic to move through other road types where there are a higher number of vulnerable road users. The safe maximum speed for Urban Link roads should be set to 60-70 km/h. If pedestrians and cyclists are explicitly prohibited from using a section of this road type, the maximum speed could be increased to 80 km/h.

ROADS DESIGNED WITH SAFETY AS A PRIORITY
In addition to the Roads-For-Life framework, other studies such as Cities Safer by Design and WHO’s Sustainable Cities (a study we have previously referenced) also suggest that road safety should be a key part of road design.
Cities Safer By Design recommends the following design elements:
● Urban design that includes smaller block sizes, frequent street connections, narrower streets, and access to destinations in compact urban environments that alleviate the need for vehicle travel;
● Traffic calming measures such as speed humps, chicanes, curb extensions, raised pedestrian crossings and other elements;
● Arterials and intersections that reduce conflicts between road users by providing clear crossings, medians and refuge islands;
● Pedestrian facilities ranging from pedestrian-only areas to basic, consistent sidewalks;
● Bicycling networks that feature protected bicycle lanes and special attention to design at intersections; and
● Safety improvements around mass transport stations and corridors.

While all these proposed changes would be nice in a perfect world, it could take years, possibly decades, for them to become the standard, especially in low- to middle-income countries. Until then, we can only hope that personal responsibility and legislation improves to protect the lives of all road users.

THE COST OF SPEEDING
As mentioned, speeding is usually a self-motivated choice that affects more than just the driver. The costs of speeding are significant and cannot be ignored.
There is a sentiment that lowering the speed of traffic could hurt the economy. But, in 2023 it was reported that car crashes have cost South Africa R1-trillion in the past 7 years. Since speeding is a major cause of crashes, reducing speeding could actually benefit the economy by reducing the number of accidents.
On a more personal level, the cost to the individual is also increased by speeding. Driving at higher speeds increases fuel consumption as well as the need for more frequent maintenance and replacement of tyres.
In the event of a crash, insurance companies may reject a claim if they feel that reasonable precaution while driving was not observed. If you have received multiple fines for speeding, the rejection of a claim for a crash may become more likely if your driving record indicates a pattern of reckless behaviour.
Along with increased fuel consumption comes the ecological and health costs as well. Driving at high speeds increases CO2 emissions from vehicles. Also, roads designed mainly for vehicles can be less friendly to other road users. This often leads to more vehicles on the road, which in turn increases CO2 emissions.
Lower speeds and safer roads lead to cleaner air, healthier lifestyles by encouraging walking and cycling, and more vibrant, liveable communities.
Besides these benefits, the greatest cost of speeding is the loss of lives. Road-related incidents are a major cause of death among young people and children, with speeding being a significant factor.
Speeding has a huge impact on road safety and the costs associated with it are high. It is important that we change our attitudes about speeding as well as building road safety into the world around us. The lives of the most vulnerable people in our communities depend on it.