Both risk of collision as well as risk of injury / death if a collision occurs correlate heavily with speed. Of course it’s not the only factor, that’s why we have safety and license requirements for vehicles and drivers as well but there’s literally no better factor than speed to consider.
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BilboBargains@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Using vehicle velocity as risk assessment method is fucking dumb. Might as well put that copper to better use.
friendlymessage@feddit.de 8 months ago
Zagorath@aussie.zone 8 months ago
No it’s not. Speed is a very significant element of road safety. At lower speeds, you can stop in a much shorter distance, and if you hit someone their chance of death or serious injury goes way down. Braking distance is proportional to the square of velocity, and reaction distance is directly proportional. If hit at 50 km/h, a pedestrian has a 90% chance of death. At 30 km/h, they have a 90% chance of survival.
At lower speeds, you’re also far more likely to notice something that might require you to stop or slow. Your cone of vision at 60 km/h is 40°. At 80 it’s 30°, and at 100 km/h it’s 20°. A different source I found says under 50 km/h it’s 104° and at 65 it’s 70°. Whatever the specifics, lower speeds are much safer.
This isn’t to say that speed cameras are the best or should be the only method used to ensure road safety. Narrowing roads, adding furniture by the roadside, and increasing the complexity of the route, are all good ways to reinforce a lower speed limit by reducing how safe drivers feel driving at high speed. But speed cameras are a useful supplement to that, for those drivers determined to be irresponsible.
BilboBargains@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Why is high speed highway driving safer per km if vehicle velocity is a ‘very significant element of road safety’?
The problem, as ever, is retards driving fast on slow roads and slow on fast roads. The camera doesn’t discriminate, it triggers no matter the context. It will trigger the same way for a racing driver with lightening fast reflexes in perfect conditions as it will for tired grandma with cold treacle reaction time driving on snow.
Don’t believe their lies.
Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 8 months ago
Because highways don’t have stop signs or lights or people in slower means of transportation sharing the road with cars.
When accidents happen on highways they tend to involve more cars and to be more destructive too because of the speeds involved.