Speeding is one of the most common traffic citations. People are often frustrated to get a ticket because they don’t think they were really harming anyone. They were just trying to get to work on time or get to school before class was in session. They think of it as a victimless crime.
But the reason for speed limits and traffic tickets is that speeding can, in some ways, increase the danger on the road. There are two specific ways that this happens.
It makes accidents more likely
To begin with, driving at a higher rate of speed can make accidents happen more often. It reduces the time that drivers have to respond if something unexpected occurs on the road ahead of them. In some cases, reckless speeding can even cause someone to physically lose control of the vehicle, such as when two drivers are racing on the interstate. Excessive speed is also a major issue when road conditions are poor – such as in fog or rain.
It makes accidents more dangerous
But one of the main risks is simply that an accident that occurs is going to be more dangerous to all involved if one of the drivers was speeding at the time. Take pedestrian accidents, for example. A pedestrian is far more likely to die if they’re struck by a driver going 45 miles an hour as compared to a driver going 25 miles an hour. So, even if an accident was unavoidable and would’ve happened either way, a speeding driver still increases the risks on the road.
Have you been injured by a driver who was acting negligently? If so, you need to know about all the legal options at your disposal.