What causes accidents: speed
There is a well known saying from safety campaigns which simply says that "speed kills".
Although many people think that you have to be travelling really quickly in order to make an impact sufficient enough to seriously injure someone or to kill them - such as the sorts of speeds you see on the motorway - this is not actually the case.
Indeed even at what you might consider 'low' speeds, like those around streets in towns and cities, just a few mph can make a major difference to the strength of an impact and therefore the severity of an accident, whether or not it involves other people or is a single vehicle crash impact.
Going a little too fast is doubly dangerous. First of all, it means that you have less time to react to an unexpected situation - for instance something running across the road. But secondly, if you hit that object or person at the higher speed then the impact is much more severe too.
This is why you should always stick to speed limits even if you think it is safe to go quicker: it is never safe, because the unexpected could always happen. Travelling at 35mph instead of 30mph where that is the speed limit could lead to the difference between life and death for someone who gets involved in an accident with a pedestrian.
Related Articles...
Why communication matters
When you are driving, in the vast majority of occasions there will be at least a fair number of other road users on them at the same time as you. This means that they will be reacting to how YOU...
What to do when you sell a vehicle
When you sell a vehicle, there are some things that you have to do straight away. As soon as the vehicle is sold you have to tell the DVLA, which stands for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency,...
What to expect at a hazard perception test
The test has fourteen different clips, as outlined in the article entitled 'how to pass the hazard perception test'.
Each of those clips starts counting down from ten to zero, in order to...
Overtaking cyclists safely
You need to constantly be on the lookout for cyclists because they are a lot less visible than cars and motor vehicles.
Whilst cyclists should have lights in poor light conditions or in the...
Mock Driving Theory Test
Many learner drivers are in the process of finishing A-levels or at university, and so the process of exams and tests is very familiar to you. For those that tests and exams are a distant memory, a...
How to get your provisional driving license
In order to take the theory test, and ultimately the practical driving test, you will need to have a valid provisional driving license. Indeed you need the provisional license in order to be able...
Types of brakes and braking system
The brakes on your car are one of the most important elements of the car, and when you learn the ABC of accelerator, brake and clutch you realise if you hadn't already how to standardly operate the...
What are driving offences
Driving offences are what happens when you do not meet your obligations as a road user.
This could be something like not having the correct documentation that you require or something much...
How to help yourself stay safe whilst driving
It is a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless, that there are very rare occasions on which you can just get unlucky and be involved in an accident, whether minor or major, that you are powerful to do...
Online Driving Theory
Why use an online driving theory website when there are also some books in publication that will help you study for your theory test? Well, there are several advantages to online driving theory,...
Back to home page of driving theory test questions
