>-----Original Message-----
>From: Brian Clewer [mailto:brianclewer@MISTRAL.CO.UK]
>Sent: 15 June 2004 13:54
>To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
>Subject: Re: [OT]: detecting emergency vehicles
>
>
>Mike, I see your point here, but I think there is one think
>motorists don't
>think of.  That is the formula for kinetic energy is   1/2Mass times
>Velocity squared.
>
>If you hit a person and you are going 30mph, you will do a
>certain amount of damage, lets say 30 squared is 900.  If you
>are going 35mph the damage goes up 36 percent to 1225...
>
>I am not saying I have never broken the speed limit, but 5 mph
>over the limit is enough to easily kill someone, rather than
>just break their legs. Or if you put it another way, you have
>to get rid of 36% more energy to stop the vehicle from hitting someone.
>
>Brian.


Brian,

Unfortunately that is the only thing that the government DO think of.  They
are speed obsessed, but all that formula proves is that *if* you do hit
something whilst speeding, it's going to be worse.  At the end of the day
it's a balance, drive too quickly, hit something and probably cause deaths,
drive too slowly, attention wanders, hit something, serious injuries or
deaths.  Drive at the right speed, minimise the risk of hitting anything.

The money they are spending on speed cameras, would be far more worthwhile
in implementing a training/education for drivers and pedestrians (who are
hardly blameless, at least in the UK).  The problem on our roads is the
quality of driving, not the speed.

Regards

Mike




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