It’s an everyday affair, you see a biker go gusting, a car roaring and speeding up leaving others in shock behind. As per statistical data, human errors account for almost 90% of the total road accidents and speeding accounts for 60% of the total human errors. After the vehicles bluster on what remains are assumptions only. But do we actually know why do they do so?
A wordsmith and traffic expert writes for theombudsmanews the reasons and causes why people do so. The reasons he forwards:
- Travelling at higher speeds offer the immediate ‘reward’ of a shorter journey time. This benefit is reinforced every time a driver travels above the speed limit without any adverse consequences.
- Most drivers consider themselves above average in terms of skill.
- An important and common factor is pressure applied by the employer to maintain challenging timetables. (leading to stress and tension to the driver which invariably lead to an avoidable accident.)
- Years of driving experience coupled with inadequate knowledge on the risk factors leads to overconfidence and higher speeds.
- Similarly, individual well educated drivers suffer from a false sense of confidence although, no faculty in education teaches anything related to road accidents. (Training on prevention of road accidents is, therefore, mandatory for all employees in many organizations.)
- Driving fast gives a sense of thrill and achievement.
- A driver familiar with the route is tempted to drive fast.
- When the vehicle is owned by an employer, a driver may drive fast.
- Better cars and better roads invariably lead to higher speeds.
Most safety experts agree that the single most important contributor to road fatalities around the world is ‘poor speed selection,’ that is, inappropriate vehicle speed in relation to unfavourable driving conditions. In practice, many drivers fail to visualize such conditions due to limited knowledge.
-Samir Pathak, Author, Professional Trainer, Consultant
(The write is a wizard and maestro in traffic and road safety matters for several decades. He has written number of books that have been turned guide to many government officials and individuals.)