22 Nov 2007
Speeding
Speed
* Exceeding the posted limit or driving too fast for conditions is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes. The human and economic sacrifice is unacceptable.
* Few drivers view speeding as an immediate risk to their personal safety, but speeding reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely around curves on highways or objects in the roadway. It extends the distance necessary to stop a vehicle and increases the distance a vehicle travels while a driver reacts to danger.
Effects and Costs of Speeding
* Thirty-one percent of all fatal crashes were speed-related.
* Drivers involved in speed-related fatal crashes were more likely to have a history of traffic violations.
* Ninety percent of fatalities in speed-related crashes occurred on non-Interstate highways.
* The chances of death or serious injury double for every 10 mph over 50 mph a vehicle travels.
* Only 19 percent of drivers involved in speed-related fatal crashes were using safety belts.
* Of all drivers involved in speed-related fatal crashes, 56 percent were under the influence of alcohol.
* Passenger cars use approximately 50% more fuel traveling at 75 mph than they do at 55 mph.
* The cost of speed-related crashes is estimated at $24 billion each year, or $744 per second.
Special Notation
The primary aim of traffic law enforcement is to reduce traffic crashes, injuries, and death through fair, impartial, and reasonable enforcement of traffic laws.