Quote:
Originally Posted by REDVAN
I have finally figured out how to clearly articulate the point I was trying to make earlier. What you say in red is, in my opinion, wrong. What people who drive slowly think is that speed kills. Speed does not kill. Stupid drivers who push their cars and themselves TOO FAR with speed is what kills, not a guy who goes 20 or 30 over the limit on Deerfoot relatively safely.
I know it's semantics, but it is really quite important to make a distinction between safe and fast, because you can be both. To make my point, I ask you all to consider the following: slower is safer. Is that a true statement? To me, slow/fast and safe/unsafe are two independant variables. Think of a graph and you will understand what I mean. To this end, you may have the following possibilities:
safe and fast
safe and slow
unsafe and fast
unsafe and slow
My point in this whole thread is that most people do not consider the fact that slow drivers can be unsafe equally as fast drivers.
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Alright, let's take two drivers of exact driving skill and put them both on a road.
One is doing the speed limit and the other is doing 20 over in the left lane. The road is not overly croweded so both drivers are free to carry on at their prefered speed. Now two deer dart from the woods and stop in each lane 100meters in front of the two drivers. Driver 1 takes 99m to stop and the deer prances off to the bushes safely.
Driver 2, due to his higher speed, takes 120 meters to stop, hits the deer, swirves off the road and into a ravine. The Deer is remarkable unhurt but driver 2 is dead.
In this case the only factor was speed. The fact of the matter is that the faster you are going, the greater risk you are at.
When you're going faster, your reaction time shrinks, and the potential damage you can sustain in a crash is increased dramatically. Yes, you can be unsafe at any speed, but all things being equal greater speed = greater risk.