We’re all tempted to shave a few minutes off our travel time, and the speedometer can creep up before we realize it. But speeding can have devastating consequences. In 2017, 26% of U.S. traffic fatalities—almost 10,000 deaths—directly resulted from speeding.
These statistics clash with the public perception of speeding. In fact, 70% of drivers admit to speeding at least occasionally. Thanks to major public health campaigns, we regard driving drunk or failing to wear seatbelts as reckless behaviors. However, people still view speeding as acceptable even though it causes about as many deaths each year as drunk driving.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how speeding contributes to crashes and discuss how Crosley Law uses cutting-edge technology to investigate high-speed wrecks.
How Speeding Increases the Risk of Collision and Serious Injury
Speeding is dangerous for two main reasons:
- It increases your chances of being involved in a crash.
- It increases the likelihood of severe injuries for everyone involved in a wreck.
Collisions are more likely to occur while speeding for many reasons. Road conditions, the type of road, the age of the driver, alcohol consumption, and other factors can all increase the dangers of speeding.
We like to think that we are in control of our vehicles, but excessive speed combined with any of these issues can quickly result in loss of control and a high risk of collision. And even without other factors, speeding by itself reduces the window for a driver to react and make a critical decision that could prevent a wreck.
“We like to think that we are in control of our vehicles, but excessive speed combined with any of these issues can quickly result in loss of control and a high risk of collision.”
All these factors combined with a lack of negative public perception make speeding even more dangerous and pervasive. Drivers don’t see speeding for what it is: an aggressive driving behavior. The soccer parent going 10 mph over the speed limit to make it to their child’s practice on time and the teen in the sports car doing 90 on the expressway are both driving aggressively and recklessly.
However, the way people perceive these two examples differs radically. Most drivers are guilty of the occasional 10-miles-over speeding (always for a reason that seems acceptable at the time), and few people recognize this behavior as particularly aggressive or dangerous. The fact is, it doesn’t matter whether you’re speeding because your child is late for a game or because you’re just impatient to get where you’re going. Either way, speeding increases your risk for a wreck and puts others on the road in jeopardy too.
Unfortunately, even if you drive at safe speeds, you can still become the victim of another driver’s reckless behavior.
Crosley Law Uses High-Speed Crash Investigations to Help Crash Victims
If you’ve been hurt because of someone else’s speeding or reckless driving, you should contact the attorneys at Crosley Law. We use the latest advances in technology to help judges and juries understand the key evidence and testimony related to your specific case. As part of our process for investigating high-speed collisions, we utilize cutting-edge technology to digitally reconstruct each collision. The resulting real-time simulation is an invaluable part of our dynamic multimedia courtroom presentations.
We also work with expert witnesses who can walk judges and jurors through critical aspects of a crash using the real-time simulation of the wreck. Digital accident reconstruction helps translate crucial technical evidence into real-life terms that judges and jurors understand.
Injured in a Texas Car Accident? Call the Expert Attorneys at Crosley Law
If you’ve been injured or lost a loved one in a vehicle crash in Texas, please call Crosley Law at 210-LAW-3000 | 210-529-3000 or fill out our simple online form to schedule your free consultation.
Our team of experts will investigate the circumstances surrounding the wreck to determine who was at fault and what factors contributed to the crash. We can give you honest legal advice about whether you should pursue a lawsuit. And if we can take your case, we will do so on a contingent-fee basis, which means you won’t pay a dime unless we get you a settlement or win your case in court.
The longer you wait to contact a lawyer, the harder it is to collect and analyze evidence from a crash, so please contact Crosley Law today.
References
Mohn, T. (2017, July). Speeding: It’s just as dangerous as driving drunk, new report finds. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2017/07/30/speeding-its-just-as-dangerous-as-drivingdrunk-new-report-finds/#547cbe0d70df
National Transportation Safety Board. (2017, July). Reducing speeding-related crashes involving passenger vehicles (NTSB/SS-17-01 PB2017-102341). Washington, D.C.: Author. Retrieved from https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-studies/Documents/ss1701.pdf
Pappas, S. (2018, April). Curbing the need to speed. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/04/curbing-speed
Speeding. (n.d.). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Retrieved from https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/speeding
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.
