It's Not the Speed that Causes Accidents

Yesterday's close shave in the wee hours of the morning affirmed what I've always known - it's not the speed that you're travelling at that causes accidents, it's driver carelessness and oversight.

I was cruising along minding my own business, when a little Proton Saga swerved into my lane, nearly forcing me off the road. I wasn't going at break neck speed, to be sure, and neither was he.

Fortunately, nothing untoward happened because I managed to swerve out of the Proton's way and the Proton driver managed to react in time as well.

Would there have been accident had either of us gone any faster? Hard to say, simply because accidents happen by the will of God.

No matter how good you are at driving, if it's your time to be involved in a crash, then that's that.

Of course, it pays to be careful, which is why defensive driving at any speed is important on open roads. But speed alone doesn't kill, which is why I don't think that it's reasonable for Malaysian roads to have a fixed speed limit of 110 km/h on most highways if not less.

Yes, there are black spots or danger spots that are prone to accidents, and for that reason, the allowable speeds there should be limited to 110 km/h or less. And it's a good thing that the Malaysian government is coming up with digital speed-trap cameras that detect speedsters at those spots.

But not on normal roads where 110 km/h or less is just ridiculous. At 110 km/h, I'd be in danger of falling asleep more than I would be in danger of coming to a crash because of speeding.