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Economic Impact of Speeding Crashes

Speeding is a major factor in traffic crashes and costs society over $23 billion per year. Exceeding the speed limit or driving too fast for conditions reduces a driver's ability to steer and stop safely. Crash severity and probability of death both increase substantially with higher speeds. Many drivers do not consider this risk and believe the worst that can happen is a speeding ticket, but driving too fast can easily result in death.

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Gede Mertayasa
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74 views2 pages

Economic Impact of Speeding Crashes

Speeding is a major factor in traffic crashes and costs society over $23 billion per year. Exceeding the speed limit or driving too fast for conditions reduces a driver's ability to steer and stop safely. Crash severity and probability of death both increase substantially with higher speeds. Many drivers do not consider this risk and believe the worst that can happen is a speeding ticket, but driving too fast can easily result in death.

Uploaded by

Gede Mertayasa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Think Fast...

What costs society


$44,193 a minute?
(answer) ... check your
speedometer as you drive home!
Exceeding the posted limit or driving too fast for
conditions is one of the most prevalent factors
contributing to traffic crashes. Speed is a factor in
nearly one-third of all fatal crashes. Speed-related
crashes cost society more than $23 billion a year.*

Too few drivers view speeding as an immediate risk


to their personal safety or the safety of others. Yet,
speeding reduces a driver's ability to steer safely
around curves or objects in the roadway, and it
extends the distance required to stop a vehicle in
emergency situations.

Crash severity increases with the speed of the


vehicle at impact. Inversely, the effectiveness of
restraint devices like air bags and safety belts, and
vehicular construction features such as crumple
zones and side member beams decline as impact
speed increases.

The probability of death, disfigurement, or


debilitating injury grows with higher speed at impact.
Such consequences double for every 10 mph over
50 mph that a vehicle travels.

Many drivers don't consider this. They slow their


speed in residential areas, or when the weather
turns bad. To them, a few miles an hour over the
posted speed limit is an acceptable risk. Their
excuse -- other drivers do it.
They believe the worst that
can happen to them is to
receive a speeding ticket.

Drivers like this are wrong.


Maybe even dead wrong,
because driving too fast for
conditions or exceeding the
posted speed limit can kill
you.
* in 1994 dollars
Consider These
Speed-Related Facts
Rural roads account for over 60 percent of all speed-
related fatal crashes.

Sixty six percent of speed-related crashes involved a


single vehicle.

Sixty percent of all speed- related fatal crashes occurred


at night (6 pm to 6 am).

Drivers involved in speed-related fatal crashes are more


likely to have a history of traffic violations.

On average, 1,000 Americans are killed every month in


speed-related crashes.

Youth and Speeding


Of all drivers aged 15-24 years of age involved in fatal
crashes, 32 percent were speeding.

Of drivers under age 21 involved in fatal crashes,


38 percent of the male and 24 percent of the female
drivers were speeding.

Economic and
Environmental
Costs of $peeding
Fuel consumption increases steadily above 45 mph with
passenger cars and light trucks using approximately 50
percent more fuel traveling at 75 mph than they do at
55 mph.

U.S. Department of Transportation


National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration

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