A great deal of satisfaction comes from our different types of personal vehicles, regardless of their make or model. They allow us to have more satisfying lives by providing independent short and even long excursions. They are entirely under our control and bidding. However, we must not lose track of the tremendous energy they produce when they transport us. The average automobile not speeding on expressways has about half the energy of a hand grenade explosion, and larger vehicles, such as pickup trucks, produce the same energy as a grenade or a stick of dynamite. Heed Your Speed!
More danger exists in speeding, as the enormous energy released can overwhelm the protective reaction time, meaning a speeder is more likely to be involved in a more damaging crash. When speeding, both reaction times must be quicker, and the distance to brake is longer. They are conflicting opposites endorsing danger. High-speed accidents cause more permanent injuries and more deaths. Speeding is causal in one third of wreck fatalities, and the death rate from accidents doubles with each 10 miles per hour increase. Wow, speeding produces a double Whammy.
In addition, about half of vehicular accidents involve more than a single vehicle, which also releases a second or more
blasts of its energy. The force is not dissipated generally but is focused on the area where contact is made. Because vehicle strength varies with location, vehicles are stronger at the front and back. Hence, T-bone accidents have resulted in a grievous increase in injuries.
The force of traveling is strongly related to the speed of the vehicle. When the weight of the car doubles, the energy produced doubles, but when the speed doubles, incredibly, the energy quadruples and becomes equal to two or four grenades or sticks of dynamite. Speeding is a factor that contributes to the damage in over half of speeding-related accidents. Over twelve thousand deaths result yearly from speeding. Ask yourself, is arriving a short while earlier at a destination worth risking your or a loved one’s death?
Overall, the vehicle weight figures in harming people significantly, with almost half of accidents involving 18-wheelers resulting in injuries, with nearly all those hurt in the cars. About half of the 18-wheeler wrecks have injured people, and a significantly higher death rate. We should be more careful around larger vehicles, speeders, and especially larger speeding vehicles, including keeping greater distancing than for lighter vehicles. Be aware that 18-wheelers have blind spots on both sides, with the larger one on the right side and for about thirty feet behind. Don’t linger.
Please continue to forward this safety-promoting info so it can protect others while protecting you.