Over-speeding is the single largest cause of road accidents globally and in India. Speed exponentially increases the momentum and kinetic energy of vehicles, causing more severe impacts in collisions. Even small increases in speed significantly raise the risks of serious injuries and death. While some believe speeding saves time, in reality any time saved is minimal and not worth the major safety risks of driving too fast given road conditions in India. Auto companies misleadingly promote speed in advertisements without consideration for actual road infrastructure. Overall the document discusses the dangers of speeding and how time saved is not worth the risks to life.

1. Road Traffic Digest No. 10
SPEED
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2. From this digest onwards we are starting a
discussion on various human errors responsible for
road accidents
[ Ref: Road Accident/causes/Human Errors/ Speed ]
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3. The Fact
• Over speeding is the single most important cause of
road accidents all over the world.
• In India it was responsible for 58.3% road accidents and 56% of
deaths in these accidents in 2010
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4. The Risks of over-speeding
With speed, the momentum and kinetic energy of vehicle
increases exponentially causing much severe impact when a
collision occurs [mv & ½ mv2 where mass is constant].
In general, an increase of 1km/hr in speed can cause a 3%
increase for risk of serious injuries.
Up to 30 km/hr - risk of crash being fatal is minimal.
at 50km/hr – 3 times risk of a major accident
at 80km/hr - 20 times risk of a major accident
- - - - and
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5. -- at 100km/hr :
risk of a fatal accident is nearly 100%
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6. Example 1:
if some one attempts a suicide from
the first floor [4mt], then there are
chances he may not succeed.
If the same person makes an attempt
from the fourth floor [16mt], there is a fair
chance his wish may be fulfilled. The
reason is that in his later attempt, the
velocity near ground would become
double to that of the previous one [64
km/hr against 32 km/hr].
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7. Example 2:
While breaking a coconut on some auspicious occasion you
must have noticed how easily a very hard coconut turns into
pieces when you strike it on the floor with a great speed/force.
Now you can well understand how dangerous the
speed factor can be on roads.
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8. Example 3:
Why death rate in road accidents is lowest in Kolkata ??
At a slow speed due to traffic congestion the chances of head-
on collisions and accidents are negligible. This probably explains
the lowest death rate among all metro cities in road accidents in
Kolkata [and probably also the reason for being one of the worst
polluted city in India!!].
What would you like to call this, a blessing in disguise?
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9. Risk to other people [pedestrians. etc]
If we consider the risk of fatal injuries caused by moving
vehicles to pedestrians we see that at a speed of 30km/hr there is
only a 10% risk whereas at the speed of 45 km/hr it is about 50%.
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10. Risk to other people [pedestrians. etc]
If we consider the risk of fatal injuries caused by moving
vehicles to pedestrians we see that at a speed of 30km/hr there is
only a 10% risk whereas at the speed of 45 km/hr it is about 50%.
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11. 1. “Speed affects our reaction time”
Our reaction time for any unusual situation on road varies
from 0.5 second to more than 2 seconds. When we drive fast the
reaction time of our brain reduces and we have to take split-
second decisions for any sudden or unusual situation.
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12. 1. “Speed affects our reaction time”
Our reaction time for any unusual situation on road varies
from 0.5 second to more than 2 seconds. When we drive fast the
reaction time of our brain reduces and we have to take split-
second decisions for any sudden or unusual situation.
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13. 2. More Speed = More physical & mental stress
When you drive at a slower speed, your drive is very
comfortable. You can talk to your co-passengers or you can enjoy
music, etc. In simple words, you just enjoy your driving.
On the other hand, when you drive fast you grip the steering
very hard and your body muscles also get taut as you become
conscious of driving. You have to concentrate more on driving and
you cannot afford distractions.
Besides, due to chaotic traffic on ordinary highways you have to
use clutch and brake more frequently making your thighs stiffer.
These changes are very tiring and at the end of your drive you feel
very exhausted both physically and mentally.
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14. 3. Speed also affects fuel consumption
A high speed also affects fuel consumption as above 60
km/hr the petrol consumption increases by 30-40%. Though this
point is not related to road safety, with the rapidly rising costs of
fuel even people of rich countries are now seriously considering
this issue.
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15. Why Do We Drive Fast?
Most of us would answer it like this :
[1] to save time or [2] for seeking thrill
1. Speeding to Save Time !
Everybody feels he is the busiest or the most in demand.
Yes, it is true that time is a precious commodity or rather
time is money. Is it really so !
Just consider this example: if you have to travel 200 km,
you may probably save 30 minutes by driving fast but only
after an exhausting and risky drive. Reason being, you
may not be able to maintain good speed for a long stretch
as after so much overtaking the time you save is being lost
by a very slow moving traffic ahead once you approach a
town on the highway or owing to jams or check-posts.

16. - - - - Suppose, by such exhaustive driving you
have saved some 30 valuable minutes, what will
you do with these so-called 'valuable 30 minutes'?
At the most you can have a cup of tea or
relax for a few minutes.
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17. - - - Now, honestly you calculate how much time you
spend daily sitting idle in front of the television.
According audiencemap[aMap] survey, in India on any
regular day an individual spends two and a half hours
watching TV.
If you are not a taxi driver then an honest comparison
of the hours saved on highways vis-a-vis time spent for
entertainment would confirm that in majority of cases,
saving time is not a genuine reason for speeding.
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18. - - - These 30 minutes saved by risky driving
could cost you and your loved ones dearly.
Is this small amount of time really more
precious than our lives? ?
So don't go by the dictum:
‘Time is money',
remember instead :
‘No life, no money'.
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19. 2. Speeding for Thrill !
Young people, especially adolescents, do crazy things on the
road just for the thrill or to prove themselves. The desire for driving
is unusually intense.
Once an adolescent learns driving, he can hardly wait and
suddenly driving becomes the most important thing in his life.
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20. Whether he derives any pleasure from reckless driving only
he can tell but once an accident occurs, the condition of both
the driver and his vehicle certainly become a reason for a
strange kind of thrill among spectators and passers-by.
In the age group of 15- 20 years, road accidents are the
number one cause of death in India.
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21. Two-wheelers lose balance more easily as compared to
four-wheelers when brakes are applied all of a sudden.
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22. [A] The Misguiding Automobile Companies:
Auto manufacturers behave like race jockeys inciting the drivers
to go at faster and faster speeds. In a TV ad bikers look more like
stunt men of a circus rather than drivers of a vehicle.
While launching any new vehicle, be it a two wheeler or a four
wheeler, it’s pick-up and speed are touted as it’s USP. They claim
that that within 5-6 seconds it can achieve a speed of 60km/hr. An
advertisement shows a biker racing with a tiger or a SUV going
faster than a helicopter. Some companies even claim to take you
into space. Indeed they may do so, but God knows whether you
would return or become a twinkling star in space forever !

23. Are the road conditions in India really good
enough to drive fast ?
Are these auto manufacturers completely unaware of the
conditions of Indian roads? Don’t they know that majority of Indian
roads are not suitable for more than 60 km/hr whether it is a two
or a four wheeler?
May be true on an Express Highway
[that constitutes only 0.02% of total roads]
and one can save some time
without compromising on safety.
But given the condition of our
national and state highways, it is a
futile exercise.
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24. Even many SPEEDKINGS or champion Riders have lost
their lives in Motorcycling !!
CRASH FILES - - - since 1980...
Riders who have died while competing in World
Motorcycling Championship
1980: Patrick Pons (France),British GP
1981: Michel Rougerie (France),Yugoslavian GP
1981: Sauro Pazzaglia (Italy),Italian GP
1981: Alain Beraud (France),Czech GP
1983: Michel Frutschi (Switzerland),French GP
1983: Rolf Ruttimann (Switzerland),Croatian GP
Sequence of the crash (clockwise from 1983: Norman Brown (Ireland),British GP
top) which claimed the life of Honda 1983: Peter Huber (Switzerland),British GP
rider Marco Simoncelli 1984: Kevin Wrettom (England),Belgian GP
1989: Ivan Palazzese (Venezuela),German GP
1993: Noboyuki Wakai (Japan),Spanish GP
2003: Daijiro Kato (Japan),Japanese GP
2010: Shoya Tomizawa (Japan),Japanese GP
2011: Marco Simoncelli (Italy),Malaysian GP
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25. Driving speed depends more on the condition of
infrastructure rather than the digits in the milometer.
So Drive according to road conditions and NOT by the
Milometer
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26. - - - in the next digest we will discuss some other
human errors followed by automobile and road
defects. After that we will take up the role of
different agencies to control this malady [like role
of citizens, traffic authorities, automobile
companies, public works depts., health dept,
media, parents, NGOs, etc, etc]
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27. You have received this message from 'Tsunami on Roads
Organization' as a part of an awareness campaign against
road traffic hazards. If you find merit in this message, please
forward it to your contacts
From
Conscious Citizens, India
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• For previous digestsplease visit:
http://www.tsunamionroads.org/rtd.html
or www.scribd.com or www.slideshare.net
• To receive such digests in future please inform at:
consciouscitizensindia@gmail.com
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28. In future, besides road accidents, following topics will also be
discussed on this platform :
• How to decongest our cities
• Vehicle induced environmental pollution
• Arrogance on Roads: Aggressive driving and Road rage
• Public Attitude towards traffic rules in the City
• Problems of pedestrians
• Road traffic and global warming
• The economics of vehicles
• Petroleum Subsidy: Right or Wrong?
• Biography of urban roads in India
• Traffic Policeman: Problems & Challenges
• Drinking & Driving

29. Jai Hind