- Friday, September 4, 1992 - North Shore News

isk management key to road safety

HOW FAST should you
drive? The posted speed
limit? With the flow of
traffic? At whatever speed
feels comfortable or
whatever speed it takes to
get there on time?

By Ross Bentley
Contributing Writer

Well, some people actuaily
recommend driving with the Row
of traffic, but I always wonder
who’s setting the speed of that
flaw. Maybe it’s someone who’s
driving too fast beczuse he’s late
for work.

If you speed because you’re in a
hurry, consider that the overall
time saved by speeding on an
average 30-minute commute in the
Lower Mainland is less then
minute. Try it yourself to see —
and then decide whether that ad-
ditional minute is worth putting
yourself and others at risk.

Some people feel they can ig-
nore the speed limit because
they’re ‘good drivers and have
contro: of their cars. Well, as one
of fewer than 50 licensed Indy Car
drivers in the world, my driving
skills are probably at least as good

as those of any driver around —
and yet, | don’t feel it is safe to
exceed the speed limit on the
roads.

That’s because I know the
limitations of my vehicle and un-
derstand that, if 1 exceed them,
the chances of being involved in a
crash increase.

Of course, there’s a certain ievel
of risk every time you drive a
motor vehicle. On a nice sunny
day on an open highway with little
traffic around, the risk is rela-
tively low. But when traffic vol-
ume is heavier, the risk increases,
just as it does when it’s dark or
when your mind is on something
else.

That’s why possibly the most
important skills we need as drivers
are te be able to accurately assess
what the risk level is and then ad-
just our driving to compensate.
For example, if the traffic volume
suddenly increases or the weather
takes a turn for the worse, a good
driver should realize that the risk
fevel has gone up and react by
slowing down telow the speed
limit and paying more attention.

The problem is that many
drivers don’t perccive the risk
level to be as high as it really is —
or they believe that they’re such
good drivers that they can handle

Labor Day speed campaign
under way throughout B.C.

WITH THE third cf this
year’s crackdowns on
speeding drivers planned for
Sept. 2 to 8, police
throughout the province are
determined to make .B.C.
highways expensive for
motorists who bear down
too heavily on the gas
pedal.

During the week-long blitz,
police will step up enforcement of
speeding laws by setting up addi-
tional speed checks at high-acci-
dent locations and deing less tol-
evant of drivers who exceed the
speed limits,

Enforcement is focussing on
unsafe speed because excessive
speed is a major factor in traffic
crashes. In 1990, it contributed te
nearly 5,600 crashes in which
people were killed or injured.
Speed was also a factor in another
8,800 casualty crashes caused by

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driving without due care and at-
tention, which the Motor Vehicle
Act defines as ‘‘driving at a speed
that is excessive relative to road,
traffic...”

To support the police efforts,
ICBC will conduct a province-

wide public awareness campaign |

on the risks of unsafe speeds.
With that campaign, the corpora-
tion is also introducing a new
signature line for its traffic safety
programs — ‘“‘It’s in your hands’’
— to remind motorists that they

are responsible for their own safe-

ty on the road, and for the safety
of others.

“During the first two speeding
enforcement campaigns this year,
police throughout the province

handed out more than 25.000.

tickets for speeding and more than
1,000 for excessive speed (40
km/h over the limit). In addition,
more than 15,000 written warnings
were handed out.

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Not long ago, { was driving
over the Port Mann Bridge at
night, in heavy rain {poor visibili-
ty) and strong winds, in a new
BMW (gocd tires and anti-locking
brakes) with both hands on the
steering wheel and thinking about
my driving.

I was passed by a driver doing
about 100 km/h — 20 over the
speed limit — in a much older car
which was obviously in poor
mechanical condition. The driver
had one hand on the steering

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wheel and was turning around to
talk to the passengers in the rear
seat.

Do you think this driver had
accurately assessed the level of
risk in driving at that particular
moment?

I don’t think so. I’m not sure
he was even thinking about where
he was. In fact, he was’ just a
fraction away from disaster. If
anything else had happened, it
would have put him over the limit
and led to a crash. He had no
cushion, no room for error,

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The advantages of specdirg on
our roads and highways are
negligible, but the risks are high.
Think about that the next time
you’re tempted to exceed the
speed limit.

In addition to ‘being a profes-
sional racing car driver, Ross
Bentley is program director at the
Pacific Traffic Education Centre,
an advanced training facility for
professional drivers jointly
operated by ICBC and the Justice
Institute of B.C.

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