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The Citizen recently reported on a man fatally struck by a cement truck near the Ottawa Hospital. Far too many drivers exceed the speed limit on both Lynda Lane and Smyth Road, a part of the city with two hospitals and two schools. As a resident of Alta Vista, I witness this irresponsible and dangerous behaviour daily. There is very little speed enforcement on either of these roads.

The laws of physics are not very forgiving to the speeding driver. The faster a vehicle moves, the less time the driver has to react to a hazard, and for other road users to react to that vehicle. Speed is a factor in more than 20 per cent of fatal crashes and 12 per cent of all crashes. As speed increases over 100 km/h, the fatality rate of vehicle occupants goes up exponentially.

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For example, the chances of being killed in a vehicle traveling at 120 km/h are four times higher than at 100 km/h. When a car crashes near 200 km/h, the chances of survival are minimal.