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Is the time saved worth the risk?

Mar 29, 2025 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom…

Kaieteur News-  A man once had a flight to catch. He left his home in Georgetown later than planned, and in his rush to reach the airport on time, he pressed harder on the accelerator. As he sped along the East Bank Public Road, weaving through traffic, he thought about how he could make up for lost time.

But he never made it to the airport. A split-second mistake saw his car veering directly into the path of an oncoming truck. Instead of boarding his flight, John took a one-way trip to the funeral parlour. His death was avoidable. If only he had slowed down. At a steady speed of 50 km/h, to get from Georgetown to Timehri takes approximately 49 minutes. If you increase your average speed to 60 km/h, you save about 8 minutes. Push it up to 70 km/h, and you reach in just 35 minutes—saving a total of 14 minutes compared to driving at 50 km/h.

Fourteen minutes. That’s all.

But let’s put that into perspective. The same 14 minutes you save could cost you much more if an accident were to occur. It could cost you hours having to deal with the police, days or weeks and inconvenience repairing your wrecked vehicle, months recovering from an injury, or even a lifetime of grief for loved ones left behind.

This is why we need to slow down in Guyana. Speed literally kills!

In the past, one of the biggest causes of accidents in Guyana was the reckless breaching of junctions—drivers failing to yield or misjudging the speed of oncoming traffic. These violations still occur, but today, it seems that the leading cause of accidents is something even more preventable: speeding.

Too many drivers are in a constant rush, pressing the gas pedal harder to shave a few minutes off their journey. But as the example above illustrates, the time saved by speeding is marginal. What is not marginal, however, is the increase in the risk of an accident.

Extensive research has shown that even small reductions in speed can significantly decrease the likelihood of accidents and their severity. According to a study by the World Health Organization (WHO), for every 1% increase in speed, the risk of a fatal crash increases by 4%. Conversely, reducing your speed by just 10 km/h can reduce the likelihood of an accident by as much as 30%.

The WHO also states that a pedestrian hit by a vehicle travelling at less than 50km/hr has only a 20% chance of dying. However, this rate skyrockets to 60% if the vehicle is travelling at 80 km/ hr.

A report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the United States found speeding was a contributing factor in almost 30% of all fatal crashes. Similar studies conducted in Australia and Europe indicate that when speed limits were reduced by 10 km/h, there was a corresponding 10-20% drop in road fatalities.

This is not just theory—it is a reality backed by empirical data. Countries that have implemented stricter speed enforcement policies and lower speed limits have consistently seen a decline in road fatalities. In Guyana, however, we have no published studies because very little data is collected.

Slowing down is not just about obeying traffic laws—it’s about self-preservation. A vehicle traveling at 50 km/h has a much shorter stopping distance than one traveling at 70 km/h. This means that if an unexpected hazard appears—a pedestrian crossing, an animal running onto the road, or a vehicle braking suddenly—a slower-moving car has a much better chance of avoiding a collision. The statistics paint a clear picture: reducing your speed saves lives. Not just yours, but those of your passengers, fellow road users, and pedestrians.

The culture of speeding in Guyana must change. The government and law enforcement agencies have a role to play in enforcing speed limits, but the responsibility ultimately lies with drivers. Every individual who gets behind the wheel must make a conscious decision to prioritize safety over speed.

Drivers must stop seeing speed as an asset. Instead, they should view it as a potential liability—one that can take away their health, their wealth, and even their life. The irony is that a person will speed to get to the airport to save 14 minutes, but have to stand in line to check in for half an hour.  The next time you’re tempted to press down on the accelerator, ask yourself one simple question: Is the time you’re trying to save really worth it? Would you rather arrive 10 minutes later or not arrive at all?

 (The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)        

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