Crucial Facts about Speeding & Car Crashes
Traffic collisions can be caused by various factors, including human errors, vehicle equipment defects, poor road conditions and/or poor weather conditions. Of all of the contributing factors to crashes, however, speeding is one of the single most prevalent, according to officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
And the following facts about speeding and traffic crashes reveal just how prominent, damaging and costly speeding is.
- Speeding is a factor in about 1 in every 3 fatal traffic collisions – This means that, every year in the U.S., an average of 10,200 people are killed in speeding-related collisions. What may be more unnerving than this is the fact that, over the past few years, speeding-related wrecks in the U.S. have been on the rise, increasing about 2 percent since 2011.
- Young males are the motorists who are most likely to be speeding – Specifically, in fatal crashes involving male drivers younger than 24, about 37 percent of these drivers were speeding at the time of the collision. In contrast, for female drivers in the same age group, speeding was a factor in about 24 percent of the fatal crashes involving this demographic. Additionally, NHTSA has noted that, as motorists age, the “relative proportion of speeding-related crashes to all crashes” decreases. In other words, drivers are less likely to be involved in speeding-related crashes as they get older.
- In fatal crashes that involved speeding, alcohol impairment was also commonly a factor – In fact, in fatal crashes that involve speeding, the driver who was exceeding the speed limit prior to the collision had a BAC of at least 0.08 in about 2 in every 5 of these collisions (in 2012). This underscores how speeding can be an indicator of impairment, as well as how impaired drivers are far more likely to make poor decisions and violate traffic laws behind the wheel.
- The vast majority of fatal crashes that involve speeding do NOT occur on state highways – About 88 percent of the deadly traffic collisions that involve speeding occur on roads that are not state highways. This seems to reveal how motorists may be more inclined to violate traffic laws on city and rural roads, especially those that may be less trafficked or where there may be little enforcement of speed limits.
- Speeding is 100% avoidable – And this may be the most important fact to remember, as speeding-related crashes can be prevented if drivers are committed to obeying the laws and promoting roadway safety when behind the wheel.
Contact Beaverton Car Accident Attorney Linda Weimar
If you have been injured in a traffic accident caused by a negligent driver, Beaverton Car Accident Attorney Linda Weimar is ready to aggressively advocate your rights both inside and outside of the courtroom.
To receive professional legal advice regarding your best options for financial recovery, call us at (503) 640-5000 or email us using the Contact form on this page to schedule a free initial consult with Attorney Linda Weimar.
From our offices in Beaverton, Attorney Linda Weimar represents people with various types of personal injury claims throughout Washington County, including in West Side and Hillsboro.