If we could save you almost a half a minute on your next trip by automobile, would you follow the prescription? We can, but more on that later.
A report from BC’s Public Health Officer (PHO) entitled, “Where the Rubber Meets the Road,” looks at motor vehicle crashes in the province and their impact on our health and wellness. The report explores road safety by examining four pillars: technologies and strategies for improving road safety related to road-user behaviours and conditions; speed limits; vehicle technologies; and roadway design and infrastructure.
Each year BC roads see some 280 deaths and 79,000 injuries (based on 2012 analyzed data), which are big numbers, but they actually reflect an improvement on 20 years ago.
In 1996, there were 18.4 deaths per 100,000 population; in 2012, that was down to 6.2. Of these fatalities, proportionately more occur in Northern Health and Interior Health regions. In the Vancouver Coastal Health region, the number was 2.3 per 100,000. People aged 16 to 25 and 76 or over have the highest motor vehicle crashes fatality and serious injury rate.
The top human contributing factors for crashes with fatalities were speed, distraction and impairment, in that order, with speed accounting for 36 per cent of them. Environmental and vehicle conditions also contribute but we will focus on speed as a key factor.
Established research shows a clear relationship between safe speeds and road safety. This is based on two simple truths: with more speed comes less reaction time; and more speed means higher physical force, which increases the risk of serious injury and death.
The faster a vehicle is moving, the less time there is for a driver to react, and the longer the stopping distance, both of which lead to more crashes. And injury? The risk of serious injury in a crash doubles for every five kilometres per hour in travel speed above 60 km/h.
The susceptibility of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists adds a further element of danger. There is a 90 per cent chance of survival if a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle going 30 km/h, but only 20 per cent survive if struck at 50 km/h.
Now, let’s go back to that great time-saving advice: speed up and save an average of 26 seconds per trip. Most people claim to speed because it will get them to their destination sooner. Reality is not so generous. One study that followed 106 drivers over 3,049 driving hours found that they saved an average of 26 seconds, not per trip, but per day.
Among the recommendations from the PHO’s report are several relating to speed. The first is to amend BC’s Motor Vehicle Act to reduce default speed limit on roads within municipalities to a maximum of 30 km/h from the current 50 km/h.
Speed limits should also be set in regard to road and weather conditions and to increase driver awareness and education.
We know that a person has a much better chance at 30 km/h, so we should be reviewing local speed limits to reflect the increased survivability at that speed. Think about it.
Paul Martiquet is the medical health officer for Powell River and Sunshine Coast.
