Western Cape Transport and Public Works on road safety

It Won’t Kill You to Slow Down: New #Safelyhome Tv Ad shows knock on effects of speeding

Speed remains one of the leading causes of deadly crashes on our roads. On the Safely Home Calendar, August is dedicated to spreading the facts about the role of speed in traffic crashes. By raising awareness of the facts about speed, Safely Home aims to help motorists make the safe choice and slow down.

Safely Home has developed a new television commercial (TVC), “The Knock On Effect”, aimed at informing about the risks inherent in South Africa’s high speed culture, and how just knocking 5 kms off your speed can avoid the knock on effects of road crashes.

The TVC can be viewed on the Safely Home YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYXfVnsLhbM

The TVC illustrates how even small changes in speed can make huge changes in the likelihood and the severity of crashes occurring.

Road safety issues, including speeding, have been subjected to scientific analysis for nearly one hundred years and a vast body of research has been developed. The consensus of road safety best practice is:

  • The faster you drive, the worse the crash will be due to the greater force involved
  • The faster you drive, the higher the likelihood of your being in a crash due to having less time to react to unexpected hazards.
  • Even small decreases in average speed travelled equals many lives saved.

We also know definitively that driving more slowly gives motorists more time to react to unexpected events, and exponentially increases the chance of avoiding a collision.

At 65kph, the stopping distance of an ordinary sedan car is approximately 20% further than at 60kph. This can mean the difference between life and death, especially for vulnerable road users like pedestrians.

The knock on effects of a crash are devastating for the family of all the victims. Because road crash victims are so often breadwinners, the heartbreak and psychological devastation of losing a loved one is multiplied by economic hardship.

The message to motorists in the advertisement is simple: Knock off 5. Avoid the knock on effect.

Media enquiries:
Siphesihle Dube
Tel: 021 483 8954
Cell: 084 233 3811
Fax: 021 483 2217
E-mail: Siphesihle.Dube@westerncape.gov.za

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