I just finished reading a news article suggesting that speed limits in residential neighborhoods are too high and we should reduce them further. The basic idea is that at 20mph, a child is much more likely to survive a collision with a car than at 25mph or higher. By reducing speed limits, the argument goes, we would save more lives.
I completely disagree. I disagree not because of the logic, but because the underlying cause of the accidents has nothing to do with the speed limit. Ultimately, the speed of the vehicle is a significant factor leading to death in this type of accident. However, most of these accidents are totally avoidable in the first place. We need to change driver behavior, not vehicle speed.
We live in a world of distractions. Just sitting behind the wheel, I can think of a large list of things that take my attention off the road in front of me: the radio, the climate control, my mobile phone, my burger and fries and drink, adjusting my sunglasses, adjusting my mirror, adjusting my windows, adjusting my seat, loosening my tie, trying to get the bugs off the windshield… and I haven’t even gotten beyond the frame of the car yet. Outside, there are stop signs, stoplights, caution signs, construction signs, yield signs, crosswalk signs, speed limit signs, no parking signs, one-way signs, do not enter signs, and many more. And that’s just in a residential neighborhood.
Then there are the things I should be looking at: pedestrians (kids, joggers, dogs) and other vehicles (bikes and cars). I say I should be looking at them because it’s difficult to watch them all. No, it’s not difficult because they are hard to watch. It’s difficult because my attention is constantly taken away by all the other distractions I just finished listing.
Over the past decade, much research has gone into how to prevent accidents in areas with high traffic and pedestrian levels. Do you know what they’ve found? More regulation doesn’t lower accident rates, and often it raises them. That’s right: the way to reduce accidents is to simplify the situation so that the driver can focus on what really matters: the next few seconds.
If you want to save children’s lives in residential areas, you need to pay attention to the road and the surrounding area. You need to be looking ahead and to the sides. Stop looking up at all the signs, and start looking where your vehicle is going.
Attention is important any time you are trying to get the job done right. When you are driving or operating large machinery, attention is the difference between life and death. Give your vehicle the respect it deserves: it can do far more damage than a gun ever could, and it’s much more difficult to operate, too.
If everyone would pay attention, kids wouldn’t be dying playing in or near the street. If everyone were paying attention, insurance rates would drop. If everyone were paying attention, more people could get where they were going more quickly.
The solution is not reducing speed limits. The solution is re-training drivers to pay attention.
Resources:
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Quote for the week
The people who say they don’t have time to take care of themselves will soon discover they’re spending all their time being sick. – Patricia Alexander
Healthy thoughts,
Jeff
