Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/245179
1 in 3 Alberta drivers involved in fatality collisions were driving at unsafe speeds. 1 in 10 Alberta drivers involved in injury-causing collisions were driving at unsafe speeds. Source: Alberta Transportation Traffic Collision Statistics, 2012 are endless. I definitely hold firm to the belief that the YIELD Association saved my life." And the lives of anyone he might have crashed into. It took Ohneck two years to complete his 250 community service hours. At the end, he asked if he could stay on as a volunteer with YIELD, and Buck gladly said yes. After many more hours with the organization, Ohneck earned a spot behind the wheel of the association's Camaro. He attended more than 63 events with YIELD during the 2013 racing season alone – many of them street-legal races, in which drivers can race street vehicles safely, under the watchful eye of RCMP and emergency officials. He says he'll continue volunteering as long as he's able. He marvels at how a bad decision and a ticket changed his life for the better: "What started off as a nasty pink piece of paper has actually started a whole whirlwind of good in my life." W Bad Habit 1: Speeding # Most drivers admit to speeding Speeding Gives You Less Time to React STOPPING DISTANCE BASED ON SPEED & ASPHALT CONDITIONS 20 km/h DRY 2m WET 3m SNOW 5m 10m ICE 50 km/h DRY The faster you're driving, the longer it takes to stop (see the graphic on the right). Speeding also gives you less time to react to and avoid hazards, such as a vehicle ahead of you losing control on black ice or a mule deer bounding across the centreline. WET Speed Makes Collisions Worse WET The faster you're going, the greater the force of a collision, and the less effectively safety features such as seat belts and airbags perform. Why? If you go from a high velocity to a standstill – say, from 100 km/h to wrapped around a tree – in just seconds, all of that kinetic energy has to go somewhere. Speed turns a broken leg into a shattered body. Or worse. SNOW 18m 33 m 66 m ICE 80 km/h DRY SNOW 36 m 46 m 84 m 168 m ICE 110 km/h DRY WET SNOW ICE 44 W e s t w o r l d a l b e r ta | S p r i n g 2 0 14 p40-50_WorstDriving.indd 44 14m 68 m 87 m 159 m 318m Source: Forensic Dynamics at least occasionally: seven in 10, according to Transport Canada. It may seem like it isn't such a big deal – dropping a little lead onto the pedal to clear an intersection, or "just" exceeding the limit by 15 km/h to pass another vehicle on the highway. But speeding is still a major factor in collisions on Alberta roads. darren jacknisky 14-01-10 3:46 PM