Global Road Safety Target:

 

What is a speed limit?

A speed limit is the maximum, legally permissible driving speed along a specific section of the road under good road and travel conditions.

Globally, speed limits are used to regulate travel speeds and improve safety on the road network.

Global best practice for speed limits

Speed limits in Pakistan

in Pakistan speed limits are set considering two key factors:

1. Road classification
2. Vehicle class

Vehicle Class	Speed Limit	Location
Motor Cars/LTV	120 km/h	Motorways
HTV/PSV	110 km/h	Motorways
Motor Cars/LTV	100 km/h	Highways
HTV	90 km/h	Highways
All vehicles types	80 km/h	Urban Arterial roads
All vehicles types	50-70 km/h	Urban Residential areas and Hilly areas
All vehicles types	40 km/h	Near schools/colleges, Hospitals and Mosque

Enforcement level:

Source: www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2015/Country_profiles_combined_GSRRS2015_2.pdf?ua=1

 

What is speeding?

If you drive above the speed limit, you are speeding. If you drive at a speed which is too fast for the weather, road and/or traffic conditions, even if the posted speed limit is not exceeded- you are speeding. Speeding the one of the most commonly reported factors associated with crashes, yet, few drivers view speeding as an immediate risk to their personal safety. Speeding is the single biggest factor involved in road crashes. It increases the likelihood of a crash occurring, and increases the level of injury/seriousness of injury.

Why do we need speed limits?

Worldwide, speed limits are one of the oldest and most proven strategies for controlling driving speeds and are regulated for several reasons, including:

1. Drivers make decisions about speeding without considering the safety of other road users.
2. Speed limits help you to limit your travel speed, which limits the stopping time for the vehicle. It is much easier for a driver to lose control of their vehicle when driving at faster speeds.
3. Speed limits are designed to enhance the safety of all people on the road by reducing the risks created by drivers selecting the speed they wish to drive.
4. Speed limits support police in enforcement and keep all road users safe.

Why is speeding so dangerous?

Injury level in a Road Crash at 50 km/h is equivalent to falling from a 3-story building.

Injury level in a Road Crash at 100 km/h is equivalent to falling from a 12-story building.

1. Speed influences the risk of crashes and crash injuries in three basic ways:
   1. By the time the driver realizes he/she needs to react, they've travelled closer to the danger
   2. The driver must brake harder
   3. The crash is harder so the force on the body is greater and in
2. The most obvious danger of speeding is that the faster you are going, the faster you must react to avoid an accident in a precarious situation, making accidents more likely.

How speeding affects stopping distances.

The higher the speed of a vehicle, the shorter the time a driver has to stop and avoid a crash. A car travelling at 50 km/h will typically require 13 metres in which to stop, while a car travelling at 40 km/h will stop in less than 8.5 metres.

An increase in average speed of 1 km/h typically results in a 3% higher risk of a crash involving injury, with a 4–5% increase for crashes that result in fatalities.

If a driver doubles his/her speed – say from 40 km/h to 80km/ h – the braking distance does not become twice as long. It becomes four times as far. Traveling at 80 km/h, it will take about 6 seconds to stop the vehicle. The vehicle will travel approximately 302 feet before coming to a stop. That is longer than the length of a football field.

Vehicle stopping distance of the vehicle depends on four things:

• Driver perception time
• Driver reaction time
• The road surface: dry, wet or icy
• Vehicle braking capability

The yellow line shows the reaction distance, while the red line shows the braking distance required by a car to stop.

 

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