Everything you hear on the radio, the TV and the print media is about how distracted driving is the leading cause of vehicle accidents, injuries and motor vehicle related death.
There are police officers stationed at many intersections around Metro Vancouver looking for people who have the temerity to be holding a phone or other electronic device while they’re sitting at a light.
The media is all over distracted driving; apparently distracted driving is now the leading cause of motor vehicle accidents.
This may or may not be the case. However, I have a minority opinion on safety on our roads – it is my humble opinion that the real problem on our road is not actually distracted driving. It is my opinion that the real problem is cars, trucks, and motorcycles that are traveling at excessive rates of speed on our city streets.
If vehicles were traveling at 50 km an hour, the actual legally posted limit in our cities, and they did run into one another, there would be significantly less damage to the vehicles and the people involved.
It is true that vehicles that collide at any speed will result in damage. And people who are distracted by using their phone or other electronic device while they are driving they will almost undoubtedly collide with another vehicle.
However, when vehicles are traveling at 60, 70, 80, or 90 km an hour and they collide, the damage to life and property is much more significant than if they collide while travelling at the legally posted speed limit of at 50 km an hour.
So while it is useful to have police standing at intersections watching for distracted drivers, I believe that there should be an equal level of enforcement of the posted speed limits in our cities.
At least then if the vehicles do collide because a driver is distracted by a phone or other electronic device, there will be significantly less injury or property damage.
My thoughts on the issue.