Let’s be real. We’ve all been there. Driving down Jamberoo Road, mind wandering to the never-ending to-do list—pick up the kids, finish that work report, grab dinner—and suddenly, we’re doing 90 in an 80 zone. It feels effortless. Our cars are built for speed; we’re cruising, listening to the radio, and then BAM. News drops that the speed limit is going down to 60 km/h. And suddenly, it’s an outrage.

People launch petitions, local MPs jump on board to get things reversed, and we all start yelling about how ridiculous it is. But why? Why, when we all know that speed kills, are we so hell-bent on fighting something that’s meant to save lives?

I’ll tell you why. It’s because slowing down is hard.

It’s not just about the inconvenience of taking a bit longer to get from A to B. It’s deeper than that. Slowing down forces us to concentrate. Driving is no longer an easy, thoughtless task. We have to be aware of every sign, every curve, every pedestrian. And let’s be honest, a lot of the time, we’re not paying that much attention.

In a world where we’re expected to be faster, more efficient, always on the go, having to drop from 80 (or let’s face it, probably 90) down to 60 feels like a punishment. Our cars are built to do 260 km/h! And yet, we’re being told to dawdle along at what feels like a snail’s pace. It feels unfair.

But here’s the thing, it’s not about us. It’s about saving lives. It's about making sure someone isn’t getting that gut-wrenching call that a loved one won’t be coming home.

We know the stats. We’ve seen the campaigns. We’ve heard the stories. Speed kills. A reduction in speed means fewer accidents, fewer deaths. It’s simple. Yet here we are, fighting it tooth and nail because we think it’s someone else’s job to fix the problem. We want better roads. We want more overtaking lanes. We want someone else to sort out the bicycle riders and the tourists. Anything but us having to change.

No one wants to put anyone else’s life at risk. We don’t get in the car thinking, “Today I’m going to endanger lives.” We just don’t. But we also don’t want to do the hard thing, the thing that forces us to focus, to pay attention, to slow down when everything in our lives tells us to speed up.

Maybe that’s why we’re so quick to sign a petition. We convince ourselves that this isn’t the solution, that it’s unnecessary, that the stats don’t apply to us. Because let’s face it—who really wants to admit that we’re part of the problem?

It’s not easy. It takes effort to adjust, to slow down, to concentrate more. But what’s the alternative? More accidents? More people grieving their loved ones? More lives cut short because we wanted to shave a minute off our commute.

So, yes, it’s hard. But it’s worth it. And maybe it’s time we stopped signing petitions and started looking at the bigger picture. Because at the end of the day, no one’s going to argue that a life saved wasn’t worth slowing down for.

-Opinion by Lynne Strong