A video targetting speed limits around B.C. is going viral.
Released by SENSE BC, “Speed kills your pocketbook” has more than 300,000 hits since it was uploaded earlier this week. It has also taken the number three spot in the video section on Reddit, a social news and entertainment web site.
The mission of the video and SENSE BC is a call for speed limits that reflect the “upper limit of safe travel speeds to ensure the reasonable and safe actions of the majority of the drivers are legal,” according to their web site.
The nascency of the SENSE team formed by Ian Toothill and Ronald Niven in April 1995 came in response to the planned photo radar program in 1996. It is a not-for-profit society operated by a group of volunteers.
Toothill said the video strikes a chord with motorists because he believes everybody knows the speed limits aren’t right and too many drivers lose their car for simply driving too fast.
“We started back in 1995 to halt the use of photo radar and we were successful in 2001,” said Toothill.
He is not surprised this video has gone viral. “Everybody votes with their right foot every time they drive, and it’s pretty obvious that virtually nobody is obeying the unrealistic speed limits we have on some of our better highways,” he said.
The video also takes issue with the media reporting on speeding, and Toothill said everyone has a role to play. “Sometimes it’s easier to make a sensational headline rather then delve into the issue itself,” he said. The video also looks at the role of the police and government agencies.
Transportation Minister Todd Stone and Premier Christy Clark are already in the process of asking ministry staff to review speed limits with the possibility of increasing them.
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