Safe driving tips from the Maple Valley Police Department

Published 1:37 pm Monday, September 16, 2013

A large majority of collisions occur when a driver is inattentive to or distracted from their surrounding traffic conditions (weather, roadway surface conditions, traffic signs, other vehicles, bicyclist, pedestrians and animals) or they violate a traffic law.

When you are driving 8 MPH over the speed limit you are traveling nearly 12 more feet per second than you would have if doing the speed limit. The average person takes about a second and a half once they see danger to be able to react to that danger. That means now you have traveled almost 18 feet further before you have reacted.

Did you know a child hit by a car at 20 MPH is likely to be injured but survive? A child being struck by a car at 28 MPH has the likelihood of serious injuries or death? Just that 8 MPH increase in your speed can mean the difference in whether a child survives a collision or not.

With the school year starting we all need to pay better attention to our surroundings when driving and watch for those kids that are excited to be going back to school.

Young children don’t always think of the consequences before they act. That’s why it is so important for all of us to be thinking about our driving while driving. I’ve seen too many people die because a driver was in a hurry or a driver was not focused on their driving. Please watch your speed as you drive, especially in and around our schools and parks.