We’ve always believed that drivers who drive like F1 racers cause more accidents.
After all, we all know that when you’re going fast, you have lesser time to react and so, you crash.
But guess what?
A new study emerged saying the complete opposite of what we’ve always thought of as common sense.
Slow Drivers Are Causing More Fatal Road Accidents
In the UK, people killed or seriously injured in road accidents have been increasing in 2019.
And according to the British Ministry of Transport, slow drivers are blamed for causing three serious accidents per week.
In 2019, 26 people were seriously injured and two killed in the UK because of accidents caused by slow driving.
132 people were involved in minor injuries in crashes caused by slow-moving vehicles on the roads.
But Why?
The answer is impatience.
Imagine this, you’re driving on the expressway and the car in front of you is travelling at the speed of 50kmph.
You get frustrated, maybe even press your horn a couple of times aggressively. Then, in anger, you swerve out of the lane and overtake them.
But because you’re angry, you might not take as much care when changing lanes as compared to when you’re calm and collected.
And BAM. Accident.
Driving Slower Than Road Limits Contribute To Road Accidents
According to the UK police, driving slower than the speed limit can contribute to road accidents.
Hugh Bladon, a founding member of the Alliance of British Drivers, said driving slowly “is a recipe for disaster”.
It was found that driving too slowly can lead to tailgating, undertaking, congestion and road rage by other drivers.
And overtaking another vehicle on the road is the most dangerous thing you can do when you’re driving under normal conditions. Much less when you’re angry.
So When You Drive Slowly
Remember to keep to the correct lane of the road.
The leftmost lane for slow vehicles and the rightmost lanes for fast vehicles. (Except if you want to make a turn lah.)
Imagine travelling at 50kmph on the rightmost lane of the road. That’s basically being a troll on the roads.
You’re going to trigger so many drivers into taking dangerous actions that could result in a dangerous road accident.
Which could even result in deaths.
One thing to keep in mind: just like everything else, too much or too little speed isn’t good for you.
Just don’t speed up when making discretionary right turns or you might just knock down an innocent student despite him having the right of way.
