Please note that the driving school instructor may use a different presentation to teach this module.

Speed

PHASE 3 SEMI-GUIDED DRIVING 1

 Targeted Competencies

• Recognizing the personal characteristics that can influence one’s

behaviour as a prospective driver
• Identifying the legal framework and the rules of courtesy that make
safe, cooperative and responsible driving possible
• Identifying the characteristics of ecological, economical and safety-
conscious driving (eco-driving)
• Performing driving manoeuvres
• Taking other road users into account

SPEED 2
 Outline of Module 8
• Activity: Speeding

• Speeding and Speed Limits

• Why Are Speed Limits Needed?

• Is Speed a Problem?

• Young People and Speed

• Deciding How Fast to Drive

• The Effects of Speed

• Failing to Wear Seat Belts

• The Legal Consequences of Speeding

• Photo Radar
SPEED 3
 Activity: Speeding
Instructions (in teams)

• Appoint a spokesperson.
• Discuss the reasons given for exceeding the speed limit. Do you
think that the reasons are valid?
• Find solutions to encourage people to obey the speed limit
• Create a slogan to promote awareness of why people should
obey the speed limit.

SPEED 4
 Activity: Speeding (cont.)

Full Class Session

• Do you still think that the reasons given for exceeding the
speed limit are valid?
• Do you think that the solutions and slogans given could
help to promote safe, cooperative and responsible
driving? Why?
• What can you do to get yourself to obey the speed limit?
• How can you influence your family and friends so that
they obey the speed limit?

SPEED 5
 Speeding and Speed Limits

In general, there are two ways of thinking about driving speeds:

– The speed limit (legal limit) is the speed authorized by law: this
is the speed posted on road signs along roadways.

– The effective speed is the speed at which the driver chooses to

drive.

SPEED 6
 Speeding and Speed Limits

• Speeding refers to a situation where a driver travels at a

speed greater than the posted speed limit.

• Unsafe speeding refers to a situation where a driver travels at

a speed that is too high for the weather and road conditions,
even if the speed is within the posted speed limit.

• Excessive speeding refers to a situation where a driver travels

at a speed that is far above the posted speed limit.

SPEED 7
 Why Are Speed Limits Needed?
Speed limits:
– reflect the point of balance between the mobility, safety and
diversity of road users

– make it possible to reduce differences in speed between

vehicles

– are adapted to road traffic

• The road is a dense and complex environment with cars,
pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, heavy vehicles, etc.

– reflect this complex environment and are essentially designed

to reduce the number and severity of accidents

SPEED 8
 Why Are Speed Limits Needed? (cont.)

Drivers often have a false sense of security

Drivers...
– Incorrectly evaluate their own speed and that of others

– Overestimate their abilities

– Have a poor understanding of the distance it takes to stop their

vehicle

– Are generally unaware of their vehicle’s condition and

underestimate the importance of having good tires and brakes

SPEED 9
 Is Speed a Problem?

• Speed is one of the leading causes of traffic accidents in Québec

• Even when speed is not the primary cause of an accident, its effects
can be felt
• On average from 2008 to 2012, speed was a factor in approximately
– 32% of fatalities
– 28% of accidents involving serious injuries
– 18% of accidents involving light injuries
• These percentages represent annually
– 110 people killed
– 6,705 people injured

SPEED 10
 Is Speed a Problem? (cont.)

• Speed and failing to obey speed limits are generalized

problems
– Speeding and speeding-related accidents occur
frequently
– They occur on all types of roads
– They involve all drivers
• Drivers of all ages
• Both men and women

• It is difficult to create and maintain a public consensus on

speed, since the degree of public disapproval is so low.

SPEED 11
 Young People and Speed

• Generally speaking, young people aged 16 to 24 are

overrepresented in traffic accidents

• Young people represent only 8% of all driver’s licence holders,

but 19% of all drivers involved in accidents resulting in bodily
injury

• From 2015 to 2019, speed was a factor in 54% of all fatal

accidents involving drivers aged 16 to 24

SPEED 12
 Young People and Speed (cont.)

Young people involved in NUMBER OF DRIVERS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT RESULTING IN BODILY

INJURY PER 1,000 LICENCE HOLDERS IN THE SAME AGE GROUP IN 2019
accidents per 1,000 licence Age Group Number of Drivers
holders 16 to 19 26

20 to 24 15

• On average, young drivers 25 to 34 10

travel fewer kilometres than 35 to 44 8

older drivers 45 to 54 7

55 to 64 6

• When the number of 65 to 74 4

kilometres travelled is taken 75 to 84 5

into account, younger drivers 85 to 89 6

are even more markedly 90 and older 7

overrepresented

SPEED 13
 Young People and Speed (cont.)

Young Drivers and Offences

In 2019, drivers aged 16 to 24 represented 8% of licence holders, but

19% of drivers involved in an accident resulting in bodily injuries

In 2018, they
• committed 14% of all offences resulting in demerit points
• received 29% of all tickets for exceeding the speed limit by
more than 45 km/h
• committed 29% of all offences for speeding or reckless
driving

SPEED 14
 Deciding How Fast to Drive

How does a driver decide how fast to drive?

What are the reasons for each person’s choice?

3 factors:
– Driver (age, experience, sex, state of mind, being in a hurry,
alcohol, drugs, fatigue, other users, etc.)

– Environment (speed limit, road profile, weather conditions,

traffic density, etc.)

– Vehicle (weight, condition, age, model, etc.)

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 The Effects of Speed

Speed
– Reduces the field of vision
– Reduces tire traction
– Makes it impossible to perform certain emergency
manoeuvres
– Increases stopping distance
– Increases the force of impact

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 Reduced Field of Vision
• When stopped or driving at low
speed, a driver normally has a field
of vision of 150° to 180°

• At 100 km/h the field of vision is

greatly reduced
– The greater a vehicle’s speed,
the more information the brain
receives
– Since it can process only a
limited amount of information
at a time, it is forced to
eliminate peripheral data
– This is why the field of vision is
reduced

SPEED 17
 Reduced Tire Traction

• As a vehicle goes into a curve,

the tires are compressed, the
springs flex, and the vehicle’s
suspension prevents it from
veering off the road
But if it is travelling too fast…

• Centrifugal force overcomes the

force of friction exerted by the
tires and the vehicle skids or
rolls over

SPEED 18
 Certain Evasive Manoeuvres
Become Impossible to Perform
As speed increases, the available
trajectories for avoiding obstacles,
such as a cyclist, are considerably
reduced

Trucks are more difficult to

manoeuvre and slower to react
than automobiles

To brake, a truck requires more Car B is travelling faster than car A

time and distance than an
automobile

SPEED 19
 Increased Stopping Distance
The number of metres it takes for a
vehicle to come to a stop depends on
two factors

• Reaction time – Length of time

between the moment the driver
decides to brake and the moment the
driver presses down on the brake
pedal
Average reaction time is 1.3 seconds

• Braking time – Length of time the

driver presses down on the brake
pedal until the vehicle comes to a
complete stop

SPEED 20
 Stopping Distance at 50 Km/h

60
Reaction time
50 18 m
Speed (km/h)

Braking time
40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 31
40 m 45 50

Distance travelled (metres)

Speed = 50

SPEED 21
 Stopping Distance at 60 Km/h

70
60 22 m
50
Speed (km/h))

40
30
20
10
0 41 m
0 10 20 30 40 50
Distance travelled (metres)

Speed 60
vitesse 60 Speed 50
vitesse 50

SPEED 22
 Stopping Distance at 65 Km/h

70
25 m
60
50
Speed (km/h))

40
30
20
10
0 46 m
0 10 20 30 40 50
Distance travelled (metres)

Speed 65
vitesse 65 Speed 60
vitesse Speed 50
vitesse 50

SPEED 23
 Impact on a Pedestrian

70
60
50
55 km/h
Speed (km/h))

40 42 km/h
30
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Distance travelled (metres)

vitesse
Speed 65 vitesse
Speed 60 vitesse50
Speed 50

SPEED 24
 Probability of Death for a Pedestrian
Based on Speed at Impact
Ashton, 1982

100 90%
80
of death (%)
Probability

60
40
20 30%
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Speed at impact (km/h)

SPEED 25
 Bodily Injuries to a Pedestrian
Struck by a Car

20 km/h 30 km/h 40 km/h 55 km/h

Slight Minor Serious Serious Fatalities
contusions contusions injuries injuries occur in
begin to occur almost all
occur cases
Fatalities
Fatalities occur
begin to frequently
occur

SPEED 26
 Increased Force of Impact

The risk of being seriously injured or killed doubles

between 50 km/h and 70 km/h, and quadruples
between 50 km/h and 100 km/h

– A collision at 50 km/h is like falling from a 4-storey

building

– A collision at 75 km/h is like falling from an 8-storey

building

– A collision at 100 km/h is like falling from a 14-

storey building

SPEED 27
 Probability of Death for a Vehicle
Occupant Based on Speed at Impact
Joksch, 1993
90%
100
of death (%)

80
Probability

60
40
40%
20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Speed at impact (km/h)

SPEED 28
 An Accident: Three Types of Impact

1. Car vs. obstacle

• At the moment of collision,

the energy is transferred to
the vehicle, which absorbs
part of the energy associated
with the deceleration

SPEED 29
 An Accident: Three Types of Impact

2. Body vs. car

• The body continues its
forward momentum, but is
halted by
– seat belts, if the
occupants are wearing
them
– airbags, if the car is
equipped with them
or
– the steering column and
the windshield

SPEED 30
 An Accident: Three Types of Impact

3. Internal organs vs. body

• The body’s internal organs

are still moving forward, but
are “stopped” by
– the skull
and
– the rib cage

SPEED 31
 Failing to Wear Seat Belts

• For over the past decade, numbers show that approximately

30% of passenger vehicle drivers and passengers killed in
traffic accidents were not wearing their seat belt
• During that same time period, 130 people each year sustained
serious injuries
• From 2015 to 2019, on average, 47 people who were not
wearing a seat belt were killed each year (drivers and
passengers)
• Failing to wear a seat belt is often associated with other
dangerous driving behaviours (alcohol, speeding)

SPEED 32
 Failing to Wear Seat Belts

• When a car strikes an obstacle at 50 km/h, the force exerted

on a body in motion multiplies its weight by 35
• A person weighing 70 kg becomes a 2,450 kg projectile

• If you are thrown from your vehicle, your chances of survival

are 5 times lower
• There is a greater risk of being injured when you hit the
ground, as you could be run over by your own car, struck by
another vehicle, hit a lamp post, etc.

SPEED 33
 The Legal Consequences
of Speeding
Type of offence Penalty
Exceeding the speed limit A fine and demerit points, which vary
(ss. 299, 303.2, 328 and 329 of the depending on the speed
Highway Safety Code)
Speeding or reckless driving $1,000 to $3,000 plus costs
(s. 327) 4 demerit points
Driving too fast for weather conditions $60 to $100 plus costs
(s. 330) 2 demerit points
Racing or driving for a wager or stake $1,000 to $3,000 plus costs
(s. 422) 12 demerit points
Immediate suspension of driver’s licence
and seizure/impoundment of the vehicle

SPEED 34
 What Is Excessive Speeding?

A person commits an excessive speeding offence when driving at

a speed of:

– 40 km/h or more above the speed limit in a zone of

60 km/h or less
– 50 km/h or more above the speed limit in a zone of
60 km/h to 90 km/h
– 60 km/h or more above the speed limit in a zone of
100 km/h

SPEED 35
 What Are the Penalties for
Excessive Speeding?
Penalties immediately applied by the peace officer
• For a first offence: immediate licence suspension for 7 days
• For a second and subsequent offence: immediate licence suspension for 30
days
• Suspension extended to 60 days in the case of a third offence committed in
a zone of 60 km/h or less (2 identical previous offences)
• Seizure and impoundment of the vehicle for 30 days for an offence
committed in a zone of 60 km/h or less, if the offender has a prior
conviction for such an offence

Penalties after conviction

• Number of demerit points x 2
• Amount of the fine x 2
• Amount of the fine x 3 for a fourth offence within 10 years

SPEED 36
 Example of Penalties for
Excessive Speeding
Annie has been pulled over for driving at 77 km/h in a 30 km/h zone
This is her first offence
• Her driver’s licence will be immediately suspended for 7 days

In the event of a conviction

• Annie will have to pay a fine of $480 plus costs
• 10 demerit points will be entered in her driver’s record
• In addition, if Annie holds a learner’s licence or a
probationary licence, it will be suspended for 3 months

If Annie commits a repeat excessive speeding offence within 10 years, stiffer

penalties will be imposed

SPEED 37
 Increased Surveillance Thanks
to Photo Radar

SPEED 38