Speed is a key factor in accident fatalities

Santo Domingo, DR—

Speed is the risk factor involved in two out of every three fatal road accidents and played a significant role in the road accident that occurred last Wednesday in Quita Sueño, Haina, leaving a trail of deaths and injuries.

This is the understanding of Dr. Ramon Leonel Ureña, president of the Alliance for Health and Road Safety Foundation (ASVIL), who said that accidents of this nature that occur frequently in the country are evidence that road safety is not a priority for the national authorities and that the country needs to work on prevention.

He warned that half of the population does not have access to safe, reliable, timely, and efficient public transportation and that the same is valid for cargo transportation.

He said that other risk factors, such as distraction, fatigue, consumption of psychoactive substances, or mechanical failure, may play a secondary role.

He added that these aspects have much to do with vehicle safety issues and the human factor. The truth is that half of the population does not have access to safe, reliable, timely, and efficient public transportation, and that the same happens with freight transportation.

“But what calls our attention the most is the neglect of national and local authorities (Governor’s Office, Mayor’s Office, and others such as Congressmen) who are part of the decision-makers from the Power,” he said.

THE FAILURES
He considers it inexplicable that after the occurrence of the tragedy that claimed 11 lives and injured 18 people, the authorities recognized that the section where the event occurred was hazardous: closed curve, lack of signaling, road infrastructure, and bridge structure in poor condition (bridge without barriers or railings), absence of vehicle reducers and lack of supervisory authority.

In his opinion, this is evidence that road safety is not a priority for the authorities in general, and they irresponsibly point out failures that should have been corrected long ago to avoid this misfortune.

MAJOR CAUSATORS
A risk factor is an element or activity that increases the danger to human health or the environment.

In traffic, these are classified into three major causal factors: the environmental factor, the human factor, and the automotive factor, which are known as the accident triangle and are the leading causes of accidents.

The main factors that cause road accidents are driving at excessive speed, causing rollovers, the car leaving the road, skidding, and the driver’s physical health, such as blindness, visual defect, deafness, driving with fatigue, tiredness, or sleepiness.

The consumption of alcoholic beverages is probably the most critical risk factor in traffic accidents.

It increases the risk of being involved in an accident and contributes to the severity of injuries.

The factors that influence traffic accidents are distractions, such as using cell phones, putting on make-up, eating, manipulating the radio, not respecting traffic regulations, ignoring traffic signs, running red lights, and inadequate parking.

One of speed’s most outstanding adverse effects is affecting the driver’s visual perception process. It causes the so-called tunnel effect, reducing the capacity of anticipation and favoring the appearance of fatigue, aggressiveness, and distractions.

As you increase your speed, the width of your applicable visual field decreases. This is the so-called tunnel effect, which prevents you from appreciating any hazards on the sides of the road, which is especially dangerous at intersections. You could say that the side images pass by at such a speed that the eye cannot pick them up, and you only see the center of the image.

Thus, the higher the speed, the lower your ability to see and analyze what is happening around you (signs, pedestrians, other vehicles, etc.) and, therefore, to be able to react in time and safely. For example, at 80 kilometers per hour, there is already a 35% loss in visual efficiency.