[McLaren Rulez]

I think the real point has been missed. The OP is talking about Western roads. On these roads, his research suggests that speeding is not a major factor in an accident. And I can believe that because on those roads, no one cuts across you, there are no sudden lane changes by other vehicles etc. Thus, the necessity of quick reflexes and judgement is almost non existent.

On the other hand, on Indian roads, you have all sorts of nonsense. From inebriated autos to cows that enjoy sun basking on the fast lane, there are no limits to the dangers on our roads. Therefore, it is almost inevitable that every drive will see you perform some sort of emergency avoidance manouver.

So speeding on Western roads makes a statistically insignificant change to the probability of an accident. But on Indian roads, where reaction times and quick emergency manouvers are considered an important skill for normal driving, speeding increases your risk of an accident enormously.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

In other words, If you have perfect conditions, perfect car, perfect driver, then chances of speed killing you are pretty grim.

Brother do you think the word grim is not the opposite of what you want to say!

[bblost]

I have a slightly philosophical look at this.

God sent us here to enjoy life and his bountiful mercy.
If by some foolish action we end up killing ourselves before its time it will be such a waste.

He gave us common sense to wear a seatbelt, helmet, drive cautiously, follow rules and understand limits. If we give in to the temptation of momentary thrill we loose the greater joy that is life itself.

This rule applies to everything.
Unprotected sex with someone who does not rightly belong to you, stealing, corruption, lying all these are just means to make our lives miserable in the long run.
They may add a lot of thrill but that is very short in duration.

Identify the great joy of owning a vehicle.
Understand the great privilege you are enjoying by being allowed lawfully to enjoy it and also by having the physical ability to enjoy it.

As an ad line goes.
Those who appreciate quality, enjoy it responsibly.

[muralisk]

With Speed, please add drunken driving, over confidence, misjudgment, and arrogance (of being a good driver) are the primary reasons why we end up with fatal accidents.

[teknophobia]

It's not speed that kills, it's the suddden stop at the end

On a serious note, the faster you go, the less time you have to react and the more stress you place on your vehicle, thus, speeding increases the risk of greater injury in case an accident occurs. @ DKG, the limit is substantially more than 90 kmph.

[princemanatt]

I tend to make more mistakes when I make myself drive slower than usual. Then I would have a feeling that I am driving slow and loose the alertness te. And then if some surprises comes up(they come up all the time!), I would not be in the best place to handle them. So I feel that we should drive at a speed that keeps our concentration high.

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Brother do you think the word grim is not the opposite of what you want to say!

Yeah, actually! I'll correct it to: "Chances of survival are better." Hope it sounds better now!
OT:Hey you are aluminus of IIT Cawnpore or Hon'ble staff ? If earlier then which batch ?! PM me.

[gomzi]

Interesting thread!

At the risk of repeating a lot of earlier posts, speeding does increase the chances of an accident and therefore of being killed.

the question is what is the definition of speeding!

Originally Posted by sujaylahiri

However, doing 15-20% over on a clear sunny day does not increase the chances of an accident IMO, provided everything else is in order.

"Everything else is in order" is in the realm of sweeping assumptions. What does it mean? No other vehicles on the road? The driver is rated as being very good? The car he/she is driving handles as well 20% above speed limit as it does at the speed limit?

In the real world, there are a lot of factors involved - other vehicles on the road, the state and experience of the driver, the road/weather conditions etc.

Even on a sunny day, handling characteristics of a car can change with an increase of 20% in speed. A car (say Car A) that is handling ok at 80 km/h might be a handful while driving near 95-100 km/h and while the cause of an accident might be reported as something else (say an inebriated driver in another vehicle). The fact might well be that if the driver of Car A was going slower, he/she might have been in a position to avoid the accident by being able to control the car better.

[Jomz]

I completely agree with Sujay on this. On american roads The factor which caused most of accidents among desi's in driver fatigue and lack pf altertness. Keep in mind that in my area there are no sudden manuevers required save for the occasional deer crossing the road.

Steady 55mph , following the same car who is also doing 55mph and the regular hum of the engines are things which make you go to sleep at the wheel on the interstate.

I always feel more alert when I'm doing 65-70mph, In that speeds there is a lot more planning goin on in your mind, plan to overtake the chap in front, look out for cops and all. The 55-65-55 speed cycle actually breaks the rhythm of constant humming too.

I believe speed limits should be based on the car, traffic, driver abilities (they can have a test for this) and weather.

Just My opinion , and don't tell me I won't reach early or so Doing 50mph from my college to Chicago takes 8 hours, 66mph saves 2 hours off that.

[Khandelwal]

Read this somewhere:

"It does not matter how quickly you reach from 0 to 100, what matters is how fast you reach from 100 to 0."

Drive safe.

[Shan2nu]

Speeding does increase your chances of death but its not really the sole cause for accidents.

You can be a fast driver and be safe at the same time.

A rash driver will get into trouble irrespective of his driving speed.

Its not the driving speed, but the driving style that causes accidents.

Shan2nu

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by sujaylahiri

Most of the accidents involving speeding drivers were because of driving too fast for the conditions (e.g. slippery roads, less visibility etc.) while they were still below the posted speed limit.

The biggest issue is , these are not quantifiable, and consequently, less enforceable. If you let a cop ticket someone for driving too fast in the rain or in wet roads - you're giving him a lot of leeway - and grounds for potential abuse.

On the other hand , vehicle speed, though not the best indicator - is a very quantifiable , and consequently enforceable measure.

While it may not be perfect, its among the better ways you can do it. Can you thing of a better way to enforce safe driving? In a perfect world, everyone would know their limits and drive accordingly.

But unfortunately, that world does not exist

[Rehaan]

When it comes to passenger safety, until a reasonable speed its debatable -- but after that speed, chances of death in an accident increase exponentially.

When it comes to pedestrian safety (and hence speed limits in populated zones) that threshold of "reasonable speed" is lower than you would think. Watch this :

YouTube - It's 30 for a reason road safety advert

cya
R

[sujaylahiri]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

The biggest issue is , these are not quantifiable, and consequently, less enforceable. If you let a cop ticket someone for driving too fast in the rain or in wet roads - you're giving him a lot of leeway - and grounds for potential abuse.

On the other hand , vehicle speed, though not the best indicator - is a very quantifiable , and consequently enforceable measure.

While it may not be perfect, its among the better ways you can do it. Can you thing of a better way to enforce safe driving? In a perfect world, everyone would know their limits and drive accordingly.

But unfortunately, that world does not exist

In North America, the cops can actually pull you over for driving too fast for the conditions, and it has happened to so many people I know.

I think in an ideal world, they should have variable speed limits on the highway. I know it's more expensive to put electronic speed limit signs on the highway, but in many European countires (Germany?), they have already started the trend. Although it is mostly used for lowering the posted speed limit because of higher than normal traffic, an accident ahead, or highway construction. So if posted speed limits could be reduced due to those factors, why can't they be increased if the conditions are exactly the opposite?

As an example, the same stretch of highway from Detroit to Minneapolis has 3 different posted speed limits, in different states- 70, 65 and 60 mph (I90 & I94). What's the point behind that?

@ Rehaan: I'm talking about highway driving so the factor of pedestrian safety (at least in North America) does not come into play. The last thing anyone should do is speed in school zones, construction sites, or for that matter anywhere else inside a dendely populated area. Then you're simply endangerng the lives of many people, and the extra 10-15% is not worth that risk.

[tsk1979]

So what basically everybody is saying is the speeding is rarely the cause. Its merely increases your chances of dying. The cause can be other thinks like rash driving, not obeying signals, drunk driving etc.,