Speed

Without doubt, the laws that drivers fail to follow the most often must regard the speed limit. Everyone has a justification for doing so. They range from being in a hurry, which is selfish, to the limit is set too low which is either a reasonable observation or a result of failing to take all factors into consideration.

Question: I just got home from my week of driving and today I received a ticket for "Slow Driving" which I don't understand or agree with.

Chelsea Fisher was driving westbound on 43 Avenue just past 32 Street in Vernon. She was approaching the intersection where traffic for the mall entered onto 43 Avenue in a T intersection to her right. Robert Karol had stopped at the stop sign to exit the mall parking lot and intended to turn left onto 43 Avenue. He proceeded from the stop sign, did not yield to Ms. Fisher and a collision resulted.

Canadian drivers seem to agree that speeding is a dangerous action. It increases the possibility of collision, injury and death on our highways. However, most drivers have a fairly elastic view of how the speed limits apply to themselves with the majority (7 in 10) reporting that they occasionally exceed the speed limit. Regardless, there is significant public support for anti-speeding measures.

Section control is a method of speed enforcement involving a series of cameras installed over a stretch of road. An image and data are recorded for each vehicle as they enter and leave two points in the system (a section of road).

This case concerns the appeal of a speeding ticket that Cecil Lambert received after being measured with radar travelling at 126 km/h in the posted 90 km/h speed zone. This occurred on Highway 16 near Terrace. He disputed that ticket.

"Speed management is a significant challenge for most communities. This is particularly true for small, rural communities where the main roadway through the town serves a dual role.

Speed has been identified as a key risk factor in road traffic injuries, influencing both the risk of a road traffic crash as well as the severity of the injuries that result from crashes. For instance, pedestrians have a 90% chance of survival if hit by a car traveling at a speed of 30km/h or below, but less than a 50% chance of surviving an impact of 45km/h or above.

This is my favourite anti-speeding video! It was an Australian television commercial produced for the Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales. I use it regularly to try to get people to think about why taking 10 km/h above the posted limit is not a good decision when things go wrong.