There are many different reasons why people get into car accidents: from driving drunk to driving while distracted. However, one of the most common—and most dangerous—causes of car accidents is speeding. Many drivers will speed at any chance they get, whether they are on the highway or on a regular street, they will want to open up the throttle and drive as fast as possible. For some, it is because they are in a hurry, for others, they just want to show off their new performance car. Whatever the reason, driving at unnecessarily high speeds is dangerous at all times.
Speeding happens in every state across America, but there are some where high-speed crashes happen more often. Fortunately, people who were in car accidents caused by speeding have a good chance of getting the compensation that they need to take care of the expenses caused by the accident. That is because a good personal injury lawyer will be able to prove that the other driver was traveling over the speed limit when the accident occurred. So be sure to contact a personal injury attorney after you have been in a car accident.
Why Speeding is Dangerous
Speeding is a dangerous activity for a lot of different reasons. One of them is that vehicles are far more difficult to control the faster they are going, so even a relatively simple maneuver like changing lanes can lead to the car going out of control. If the driver has to make a more complex and sudden maneuver like swerving out of the way of an obstacle in the road, then the chances of their losing control increases even further.
Accidents are also more dangerous at high speeds because the impact from the crash is far greater. That can reduce the effectiveness of even the most advanced safety systems which can lead to serious injuries to everyone involved in the crash as well as significant damage to their vehicles. Since the stopping distance of a car is much longer when it is speeding and the reaction time of the driver is far shorter, the chances of an accident occurring are greatly increased. There are practically no upsides to speeding, which is why anyone who wishes to do so should stick to a racetrack.
The Consequences of Speeding
Aside from the risk of accidents, there are other negative consequences to speeding. All roads have speed limits and violating that limit could lead to getting pulled over by a police officer. When that happens, the driver could end up facing hefty fines for their first offense. Subsequent speeding offenses could lead to even heavier fines, time in jail, a suspended license, and increased insurance rates. When you consider all of the negative consequences of speeding, you can see that it just isn’t worth it.
The States Where The Most High Speed Crashes Occur
As stated in the introduction, high speed crashes happen in every state of the country, but the following states are where fatal crashes occur the most often.
- South Carolina – 7.68 speeding deaths per 100,000 residents
- New Mexico – 6.97 speeding deaths per 100,000 residents
- Alabama – 6.52 speeding deaths per 100,000 residents
- Montana – 5.85 speeding deaths per 100,000 residents
- New Hampshire – 5.77 speeding deaths per 100,000 residents
- North Carolina – 5.58 speeding deaths per 100,000 residents
- Missouri – 5.38 speeding deaths per 100,000 residents
- Alaska – 4.85 speeding deaths per 100,000 residents
- Oklahoma – 4.66 speeding deaths per 100,000 residents
- Vermont – 4.64 speeding deaths per 100,000 residents
Speeding is Not Worth The Risk
Nothing good comes from speeding, which is why it is such dangerous activity. The risks greatly outweigh the rewards, which are minimal and fleeting at best. So, it is in the best interest of every driver and their fellow citizens to obey the speed limits at all times. Failure to do so could result in an accident that could lead to serious injuries, heavy damage to the vehicles involved, and high fines for the guilty driver. The speeding driver will nearly always be held responsible for the accident, which is why you should contact a car accident attorney if you were in an accident that was caused by a driver who broke the speed limit.
