It's safer to be quicker - according to the HRAR
Australia’s High Road Automotive Research has discovered that increasing speed limits can dramatically REDUCE accidents and fatalities.
Update: Turns out this was an elaborate prank! A lengthy report emailed from the ‘HRAR’ had us convinced, but that’s because we hadn’t noticed the authors included Jeremy James, Clark Hammond and Richard Mayson!
Still, you can’t always see the obvious (have a read yourself of the HARA Report). And maybe we’re still being thick, but we can’t really see the end game on this. Any ideas?
You would expect us to say that, wouldn’t you? But it’s not us saying it but research at Australia’s HighRoad Automotive Research (HRAR).
It seems that driving more quickly arouses certain basic instincts in drivers. You’d probably think that was the last thing you’d want in a driver, but the simple fact is that higher speeds lead to an elevated perception of danger, which in turn triggers an endocrine reaction in the brain.
That endocrine reaction significantly heightens drivers’ reactions and increases awareness of surroundings. It would seem that even modest increase in speed has a marked effect on spatial acuity and response and is a manifestation of the ‘Fight or Flight’ response.
What all this means is that increasing speed limits – particularly in urban areas – could reduce accidents and fatalities by up to 80%. Yes, you read that right – 80%. It seems that the real killer is boredom, not speed.
The HRAR are advising the Australian Government to initially increase speed limits by 12mph across the board, with fines and penalty points introduced for driving to slowly. All of which dovetails very neatly with the revelation that accidents in the UK have dropped by 14% since a big chunk of speed cameras were switched off.
We always knew the guys with elbow patches and a pipe were the real problem.
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