The Slower The Speed; The Safer We All Are!

It’s Safer to Drive Slowly

We have all heard about the childhood tale the tortoise and the hare, and how the tortoise won by being just slow and steady. There are things we can learn from the story when it comes to driving. The slow movement in driving does not only save you a lot of gas but also helps you become alert in responding to problems.

Drivers may have a hard time accepting the change in traveling speed limit because they may say that it might take them a longer time in travel. But, the travel time that may be lost by reducing the speed by 5 MPH can only be just mere seconds. Actually, there wouldn’t be any problems because the time you lost in driving slowly will just be eaten up by stop signs. The drop of the speed limit by 5 MPH would not be a problem but would actually help in the safety of cyclists and pedestrians.

There are different conditions to be considered when driving, including the rainy weather, snow, or maybe a very windy condition. Crowded places on the other side are not given much attention in driving. A residential area for instance is a very crowded place, having cars parked on one side or maybe at some areas on both side. The narrow area is not the only thing to consider, pedestrians and cyclist are also the things that block the road. Traveling fast in this kind of road is not really recommended, and driving slowly can help us look for the dangers that could block the way.

At the speed of 25 MPH, a driver on regular clear roads with a properly maintained breaks and tires will take about 9 meters less to stop when seeing a pedestrian stepping off a curb to cross the road comparing to a car traveling in a 30 MPH speed limit. The difference could actually mean a lot. A pedestrian or a cyclist hit in a lower speed could have a great significant difference result of the injuries. According to 2010 statistics, almost 7000 cyclists and pedestrians together are injured or killed, in Pittsburgh, PA alone.

For these numbers of accident to go down, the driver and pedestrian or cyclist participation is needed. As a driver, you should have keen eyes in observing whether a pedestrian is going to cross the street, especially the kids. With a slower speed, these things to remember when driving in a crowded area would help a lot in making the road safer for pedestrians and cyclist.