THE FACTS

• Speeding is not just driving faster than the posted speed limit. It is also driving too fast for the prevailing weather, light, traffic and road conditions without full regard for the vehicle condition and driver skills and experience2.

• It is difficult to determine the exact cause of every crash. It is also difficult to identify a single cause, as often more than one factor can contribute to a crash. The role of speed in crashes is often underestimated3.

• In 2015 in Queensland, 62 people died as a result of crashes involving speeding drivers. This figure represents more than 1 in 4 deaths and 25.5% of the state’s road toll4. Many more people suffered injuries due to speeding on our roads.

• Australiahassomeofthehighestspeed limits in the world5. The Australian Transport Council asserts that the incidence of serious casualty crashes could be significantly reduced by decreasing vehicle speeds. Research has shown that decreasing vehicle speeds by 5 km/h

on roads with a speed limit of 60 km/h produced an 11.9% reduction in serious crashes. Reducing vehicle speeds by a further 5 km/h (i.e. by 10 km/h) would result in a 17.3% reduction in all serious crashes.

Speed and energy transfer in a crash

The severity of injuries resulting from a crash, regardless of its cause, is directly related to the pre-crash speed of the vehicle. Even small increases in travel and impact speeds result in a large increase in the forces acting upon vehicle occupants or other road users5. When a vehicle crashes there are three collisions.

1. Collision with another object, be it a pole or tree, another vehicle or person.

2. Collision involving the occupants of

the vehicle. At the moment of impact, vehicle occupants still travel at the vehicle pre-crash speed. When the car stops, passengers continue to move forward until they come into contact with part of the vehicle (e.g. an airbag or seat).

3. “Internal” collision of the organs within the human body. Even after a passenger has become motionless within the vehicle, internal organs are still moving, colliding with other organs and the skeletal system.

Even small decreases in travel speed can reduce crash and injury severity and save lives.

Speed and injury risk

• There are strong direct relationships between the speed at which we drive or ride, the risk of crash involvement and the injuries sustained in a crash5,7.

• The probability of injury and the severity

of those injuries increases exponentially with vehicle speed. Even small increases in motion and impact speeds result in a large increase in the forces acting upon vehicle occupants or other road users5. Put simply, the faster you drive/ride, the harder you hit and the more severe the injuries8.

• The likelihood of surviving a crash decreases rapidly above certain impact speeds, depending on the nature of the collision.