REQUIRED SPEED LIMITS AND COLLISION FREQUENCY OF MOTOR VEHICLES

Speed control is the most important aspect of promoting road safety worldwide. Road accidents are a barbarous truth. Road traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death in the world. Road traffic accidents claim over a million lives every year in the world. As per the World Health Organization (WHO) it is one of the leading causes of death. Although the driver may enjoy speed, the result may be death in an incident. This, suggests that when the driver speeds, he will be enjoying himself, but there is a danger inherent in it, as this may lead to an accident and consequently untimely death. The optimum speed for a safe journey depends on road type, traffic, and conditions, generally falling into 60-100 km/h (highways), with the key being to drive within your control and comfort, allowing for reaction time, and always respecting posted limits and bad weather (slow down more in rain/fog). A common safe highway range is 80-90 km/h, offering good control, mileage, and safety, even if others flash their lights. A safe highway speed is the highest speed at which you can maintain control, stop within a visible distance, obey the law, and comfortably react to other road users and changing conditions. In India, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Mr. Nitin Gadkari has approved a plan to increase expressway speed limits for passenger cars from 100 km/h to 120 km/h. Also, the speed limit on national highways has been raised from 80 km/h to 100 km/h. Alcohol consumption, speeding, and not following traffic rules are the most common causes of road traffic accidents. Drinking slows down reflexes and can result in accidents. Rash driving and over-speeding, especially by young riders and drivers, is another reason. Other than that, people not following traffic rules, such as jumping signals or overtaking from the wrong side, also result in accidents.