According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which was created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1975, 43,443 people lost their lives in traffic collisions in the United States in 2005. That works out to be about 119 people killed each and every day in motor-vehicle collisions. And you thought Iraq was dangerous for Americans. Speed has been identified as a primary-collision factor in fatal collisions. What can be done to stop the slaughter on American roads?

But first, is stopping speeders all that important? Does speed cause motor-vehicle collisions? Does speed kill people?

Speed can be a major factor in causing motor-vehicle collisions. According to the California Highway Patrol, speed was the primary-collision factor in almost a third of all fatal collisions. Speed also reduces the time a driver has to react to a situation.

Speed does not kill, but the sudden change in velocity does. It's all a matter of physics. A car traveling down the road possesses energy due to its motion called kinetic energy. When this car comes to a sudden stop such as hitting a tree, the abrupt deceleration causes the kinetic energy to be released. Therefore, the greater the impact speed, the greater the change in velocity at the time of impact, the greater the transfer of kinetic energy, and the greater the injury.

As an example of the violent forces involved in a motor-vehicle collision, a 2200 pound car traveling at 120 mph has an astonishing 1.5 million joules of kinetic energy. And just to put things in perspective, one joule is the amount of energy required to lift a small apple three feet. One can only imagine what a transfer of a million joules of kinetic energy would do to people.

So speed is definitely a major-contributing factor in fatal collisions. But what can be done to slow people down? How about photo radar?

According to a study released by the Ministry of Transportation in Ontario, it was determined that photo-radar enforcement did indeed reduce the speed of drivers. But enforcement was only partly responsible. The erection of signs that read, "Speed Enforced By Photo Radar" slowed down traffic on their own. Plus the speed on roads not enforced by photo radar was also reduced, probably as a spill-over effect.

Photo radar, however, must be deployed in a responsible fashion. It must be used where there is a high number of collisions, where there is a high number of deaths, in school zones, in areas of public concern. When cameras are implemented properly, fewer people will offend. The purpose is not to nab speeders and collect fines, but rather to prevent speeding. And to prevent death.

Learn more about this author, Gary Betts.
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