driver-qualification-handbook-english

3Speeding and crash severityThe faster you drive, the harder you hit.All that speed energy has to go somewhere. Speeding also adds to the severity ofany crash that you might be involved in. The previous graph shows that as yourspeed doubles the severity of a crash increases fourfold. So a crash at 80 km/h isfour times as severe as one at 40 km/h.But you might not be the person that is killed or injured in a crash. For example,if you hit a pedestrian at 60 km/h they have more than a 70 per cent probabilityof dying. The graph below shows this clearly. At a collision speed of 80 km/h apedestrian has almost no chance of survival.More than 2,000 pedestrians are injured or killed on NSW roads each year.Controlling your speed could help reduce this number.Percentage of pedestrians expected to survive100%80%60%40%20%010 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Vehicle speed (km/h)Source (18)Driver qualification handbook 79