The risk of death in an outrage at a speed of between 30 and 50 kilometres per hour is multiplied by five, according to a report by the International Transport Forum (FIT) for the Organization for economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The powered scooter that rolled over mortally a woman of 90 years in Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona) last summer, circulated to nearly 30 kilometres per hour, the maximum speed typical for this type of vehicle. This is joined by the possible distraction of the driver, who is investigating if he used the cell at the time of the event. All of the factors of this loss coincided with the greatest risk: possible lack of care —cause of 80% of the accidents, according to the Virginia Transportation Research Council—, top speed 20 kilometres per hour and a pedestrian involved. 50% of deaths are among the users most vulnerable-walkers, cyclists, and motorcyclists, according to the World Health Organization.
The report of the FIT estimated that a reduction of the speed of five kilometres per hour reduces the risk of fatal accidents by 28%, so that this organization recommends lower limits in urban areas with intersections and with a high risk of side collisions and in urban areas residential, where cars share space with users who are most vulnerable.
“The speed inadequate, even within the limits, but without adjusting to the road conditions, the vehicle or the driver, is a road safety problem”, concludes the International Transport Forum, a body linked to the OECD.
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The high-speed, argue the authors of the study, not only increases the possibility of accident, but also the severity of the injuries. In this sense, the text is reminiscent of a physical evidence: “the greater the speed, the kinetic energy released increases as the square of the speed.”
When the speed increases, decreases reaction time and the ability to maneuver. The average time to react to an unexpected event and choose an appropriate response is of a second, a lapse of which are not available from 30 kilometers per hour.
These data have been ratified by the Research Group Facthum.lab of the University of Valencia, has stated that “excessive speed reduces reaction time, makes it difficult to control the vehicle and the rectification of the trajectory, increases the aggressiveness and the stress of the driver, and alters the sensory function (by decreasing the visual field) and physiological (increasing the level of fatigue)”.
in Addition, according to the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport of the European Commission, the speed is a determining factor in the 30% of fatal accidents, and the excess of it increases both the risk of accidents as the probability of an injury of a serious nature or death.
In the case of cars, a study of the General Direction of Traffic Report and analysis on the influence of systems of driver assistance in road safety and its application to the classification of vehicle) points out that the widespread implementation of assistance systems, known as ADAS, would reduce the severity of accidents by 57% and would avoid some 51,000 casualties and their consequences.
These systems are the FCW (warning of frontal collision), AEBS (automatic braking in emergencies), SLI (speed limit indicator) and ACC (adaptive cruise control). However, in the case of other vehicles, which are becoming more common in the urban transport, these devices are marginal or non-existent.
