Importance Of Speed Limits

Speed limits are used in most countries to provide information to drivers about the road environment, hazard frequency and the maximum speed in clear conditions. We have speed limits because of the risk believed to be involved in driving. They are not only designed for the maximum speed but also the minimum speed drivers can drive on. Essentially they are designed for what is believed to be the safety of the driver and the drivers around you, but do we really need speed limits? This is the question I will be answering today using relevant aspects of speed such as Newton's laws and other physical concepts

Modern cars are designed to protect occupants during a crash. Some cars do this better than others. In a car that is designed well, all safety

Speed Limits are the maximum speed, which a vehicle may travel legally. A speed limit is the absolute maximum speed the vehicle may drive-this does not mean it's always safe to drive at this speed in all conditions. About 85% of all drivers travel at reasonably safe speeds for the many road conditions they may encounter through their travels, this leaves us with about 15% of drivers that need to be reminded of the maximum speed limit. This reminder must be coupled with meaningful enforcement. Most speed limits are established by extensive nationally accepted observations and studies. By measuring the speed of hundreds or even thousands of vehicles at various points of the roadway which needs a speed limit, traffic engineers are able to use the data to determine a reasonable and most importantly safe maximum speed that all vehicles must obey. Speed Cameras tie in with speed limits, they are exactly what it sounds like; cameras that measure the speed the vehicle is travelling in and if this vehicle is following the speed limit on that road. In Great Britain on average, 10 people die and 100 people are injured on the roads daily. Accident risk rises the faster a driver travels hence, it's important to measure the speed of vehicles to ensure that they are not travelling at too high of a speed. Speed Cameras are mainly used to change the behavior of the driver- they are only used

Starting with newton's law, newton's first law of motion tells that if you are moving at a specific speed, you will continue moving at this speed indefinitely unless an external force acts on you to stop. Now if we relate this to the situation of sitting in a moving car. You are moving at the same speed as the car you are in even though you it appears to be stationary relative to the car. So taking the case of a car accident again say that the car comes to a sudden stop, you will continue to move forward at the same speed that the car was moving at. This is why every time we want to stop a car we go slower first so that your body can slow down with the vehicle. But if the car stops suddenly such as when you hit another car in an accident your body has no time to slow down and continues to move at the same speed, as the car was moving before its sudden stop such as hitting the dashboard or the windscreen in the car. You can obviously help prevent injury by ensuring you car has the safety features we discussed earlier such as airbags and seatbelts. Newton's third law of motion states that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that if you were to be thrown from a vehicle and hit something such as a tree or pole this object that you hit will hit you back with a force of the same magnitude as the force you