B.C. highways are more dangerous than ever before, according to a new study from UBC.
Speed limit increases put into place in 2014 by the former B.C. government led to an increase in fatalities, injuries, crashes and insurance claims on some B.C. roads, according to . Study authors say speed limits should be rolled back to at least 2014 speed levels.
Advocates of higher speed limits have argued that traffic fatalities are decreasing despite higher speed limits, and that modern vehicles are able to safely travel at higher speeds, however this study91裸聊视频檚 findings paint a different picture.
Following the increase in rural highway speed limits in British Columbia, researchers say there was a marked deterioration in road safety on the affected roads.
91裸聊视频淭he number of fatal crashes more than doubled (118 per cent increase) on roads with higher speed limits. Affected roads also had a 43 per cent increase in total auto-insurance claims and a 30 per cent increase in auto-insurance claims for injuries due to crashes,91裸聊视频� reads the study led by Vancouver General Hospital emergency room physician Dr. Jeff Brubacher, and co-authors including road safety engineers in Kelowna at the UBC Okanagan campus.
| Graphic from the Road Safety Impact of Increased Rural Highway Speed Limits in British Columbia, Canada study |
Speed limits on 1,300 kilometres of rural provincial highways were raised in July 2014. A maximum speed of 120 kilometres per hour was instituted.
Researchers state that higher speed means more severe injury in the event of a crash, regardless of the cause.
91裸聊视频淔urthermore, higher travel speeds make the task of driving more difficult, because drivers must perceive, interpret, and respond to relevant stimuli at a faster rate,91裸聊视频� reads the study. 91裸聊视频淚n complex driving environments, this may overwhelm a driver91裸聊视频檚 perceptual or cognitive capacity, resulting in failure to recognize or respond to hazards.91裸聊视频�
A Nilsson study done in 1982 in Sweden found numbers that support this.
According to the Nilsson model, a five per cent increase in mean traffic speed (e.g., from 100 to 105 km/h), would result in a 22 per cent increase in fatal crashes.
91裸聊视频淭he speed limit increases generated vigorous public debate, with pro speed advocates claiming, for example, that slower drivers were as dangerous as speeding drivers. There was concern that this 91裸聊视频減ro-speed rhetoric91裸聊视频� would result in increased travel speed and more crashes across the province. Fortunately, there was only limited evidence of worsening road safety at a provincial level. We did find a 4.8 per cent increase in auto-insurance claims for injuries due to crashes at a provincial level, but no significant worsening in other crash indicators,91裸聊视频� concludes the report.
91裸聊视频淏ased on our findings, we recommend that British Columbia roll back the 2014 speed limit increases.91裸聊视频�
Further to that, the study91裸聊视频檚 authors suggest speed limits be set even slower than the 2014 levels in areas with adverse driving conditions.
91裸聊视频淥ther jurisdictions, especially those with harsh winter climates or with highways that traverse mountainous terrain, should learn from this experience and resist pressure from pro speed advocates to raise speed limits without due consideration of road safety.91裸聊视频�
The research was based on BC data from police reports (200091裸聊视频�2015), automobile insurance claims (200091裸聊视频�2016), ambulance call dispatches (200491裸聊视频�2016), gasoline sales (200991裸聊视频�2016) and vehicle speed travel data from permanent count stations (200591裸聊视频�2016).
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