Speed — The deadly thrill
Speed is seductive. On TV and in the movies, fast cars and fast drivers are portrayed as exciting and powerful. Speeders are daring, living on the edge. These are powerful, seductive messages for people. The car stands for liberation from controls and limitations. This attitude must change!
Behind the images of excitement and freedom are grim statistics that tell the real story. In 2000, unsafe speed was the single most cited contributing factor to fatal collisions, killing 165 British Columbians. Many of these were young people, their hopes and opportunities tragically wasted.
So why do people do it?
Many people speed because they think they can handle it. They think that their reflexes are good and that they can "stop on a dime." But when we speed, there isn't time to stop. And we can't predict the unpredictable - the patch of ice, the child or animal who wanders onto the road, the sudden, deadly loss of control.
The TV image is a sleek, powerful machine racing down a road with an invincible driver at the wheel. The reality is broken bodies pulled from the wreckage and the anguished faces of family and friends of speeding drivers and their victims.
Our speakers have first-hand knowledge of the dangers of speeding. Some have lost a family member or friend because of it. Others were badly injured and now have a life-long disability. Listen when they talk. It will help you "adjust the picture."
- Driving too fast for the conditions is still speeding. Adjust your speed for darkness, bad weather, poor visibility and rough roads.
- The top number on a speedometer has no bearing on a vehicle's ability to protect us in a crash. Federal rules demand a crash testing speed of only 50 km/hour.
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