We all have a role to play in overall safety

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 21, 2018.

If we can do something that will save the life of even one person why would we not do it? That was a recent argument in favour of lower speed limits in Calgary.

What ends up on the table in one municipality inevitably goes to the others and so it is worth having this discussion in Medicine Hat.

In the last few weeks Calgary has been talking about the pros and cons of establishing a 30 km/h speed limit in residential areas, down from the current 50 km/h.

It was Mayor Naheed Nenshi who in a radio report suggested it would save lives and if it saves even one life … it would be worth doing.

Where is the data to substantiate the reasoning for reducing speeds by 20 km/h? We don’t need data showing that the severity of an accident is significantly reduced if you drop the speed from 50 km/h to 30 km/h. We want the number of accidents per capita (actual records), in areas where the speed limit is 30 km/h and where it is 50 km/h. That is the only way to really see if there is a difference.

There is the other issue of whether cities in other countries that have an even higher speed limits in residential areas have a higher accident rate. We know Canada is different but we can learn from other countries.

Some of this comes down to the quality of drivers and the way children are taught to be aware of traffic and protect themselves. Look back a few generations and one of the first things drilled into children was how to safely check for traffic before making a decision to cross the road.

A week ago an adult was walking in a residential area in Medicine Hat with two children, who looked to be about five and seven years old, in tow. Although there was a sidewalk on one side of the road all three were walking on the road itself and not near the edge either. Even more interesting, the adult was walking ahead of the children who were preoccupied with fastening their jackets and getting something out of a pocket. They children and the adult seemed unaware of traffic at all. It was not a good example to set for the children and a bad teaching experience.

Nenshi’s assertion that a reduced speed limit could save someone’s life can’t really be argued with. In fact it would be true to say that even more lives would be saved if you reduced the speed from 30 km/h to 10 km/h.

We could in fact eliminate all road accidents by doing away with vehicles completely. Just think how many lives would be saved then.

We all have a role to play in being safe. Parents should be teaching children skills to stay safe near traffic. Drivers have a responsibility to drive carefully and with full attention on the road and the surrounding area to avoid accidents.

It would be interesting to know the fluctuating level of attention among drivers who are so busy watching the speedometer in order to keep within 30 km/h compared to those using cruise control, when conditions allow, and being vigilant about traffic and pedestrians.

Simply reducing the speed limit is not necessarily the solution.

(Gillian Slade is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to https://www.medicinehatnews.com/opinions, email her at gslade@medicinehatnews.com or call her at 403-528-8635.)

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