Posted on Monday, July 1st, 2024 at 3:32 pm
Speeding is one of the leading causes of car accidents in Georgia and throughout the United States. In fact, research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggests it is the most common decision error among traffic accident causes. Why is it dangerous to drive fast? Here are 10 reasons why speeding is dangerous—and what you can do if you’re ever in a collision caused by a speeding driver.
1. Speeding Causes a Lack of Control
Drivers who speed have less or risk losing control over their vehicles. Turning the steering wheel at high speeds can cause a car to oversteer, understeer, or flip over. These acts put others on and around the road in danger, especially when no physical barrier separates oncoming traffic lanes.
2. Speeding Means Greater Force of Impact
Higher rates of speed come with greater forces of impact. A driver going 80 miles per hour will do more damage to anything they hit than a driver doing 50 miles per hour. And if they get in a head-on collision with another motorist, that other motorist will take the brunt of the force because they’re going slower.
3. Speeding Reduces Safety Feature Effectiveness
The reduced effectiveness of vehicle safety features is related to the greater force of impact present in speeding crashes. Vehicles undergo strict safety testing to make their safety systems as effective as possible. Your seatbelt and airbags, however, will be less effective when struck by a driver going significantly over the speed limit.
4. Speeding Increases Stopping Distance
The faster a vehicle travels, the more distance it needs to stop. This increased stopping distance is a significant factor in many speeding accidents because even when drivers see a hazard on the road, they may be unable to stop before hitting it.
5. Speeding Compounds the Effects of Weather Conditions
Excessive speeding increases the hazards presented by adverse weather conditions such as rain, snow, and fog. Ways speeding makes these road conditions worse, include:
- Making it more likely to spin on wet or icy roads
- Making it more difficult to stop on wet or icy roads
- Making it more difficult to see road hazards and other vehicles with enough time to prevent a crash
6. Speeding Impairs Reaction Times
Have you heard of the two-second rule? A rule of thumb says you should be at least two seconds behind the vehicle ahead of you so you have time to react to their actions.
The faster a vehicle goes, the further it travels in the same amount of time. Drivers will have reduced reaction time than drivers who follow the posted speed limit because they close the distance to the hazard quicker.
7. Speeding Leads to Chain Reaction Collisions
A speeding vehicle may not come to a complete stop when it hits one other vehicle. Instead, it can ricochet off and strike other vehicles or cause the car it hits to hit other vehicles. The more vehicles that get caught up in an accident, the more potentially injured victims there are.
8. Speeding Increases the Risk of Fatal Injuries
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), speeding accounts for almost a third of all fatal traffic accidents. This statistic accounts for the deaths of both speeding drivers and innocent victims.
When someone speeds, they put everyone around them in danger, including their passengers, drivers, passengers of other vehicles, and pedestrians.
9. Speeding Puts Other Drivers at Risk
Speeding around other drivers is especially dangerous, not only because it puts other people at risk but also because the speeding driver doesn’t know what other drivers will do.
What happens if someone merges into the path of the speeding driver because they didn’t see them coming? If the speeding driver was going the speed limit, they could break or change lanes. But they may not have time to take any evasive action when speeding.
10. Speeding Is a Threat to Pedestrians
Speeding vehicles are especially hazardous to pedestrians, who may not see them coming or be able to get out of the way before it’s too late. The injuries sustained by pedestrians in accidents with speeding drivers are often more severe and more likely to result in death.
Atlanta, Georgia Car Accident Injury Attorney
Those are 10 reasons why speeding is dangerous. Were you injured in a crash with a speeding driver in Atlanta, Georgia? Contact us online or at (770) 205-8827 for a free consultation with one of the experienced Georgia car accident attorneys at Jonathan R. Brockman, P.C..
Our team will help you by investigating the accident, filing your personal injury claim, representing you in negotiations with the insurance company, and presenting your case before a judge and jury. We have given justice to other cases similar to yours. You can trust us with your case.
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