NTSB Reports that Speeding is Just As Dangerous as Drunk Driving

Traveling at speeds around five miles per hour over the posted limit is an often accepted and unspoken rule of drivers, but this habitual speeding may be costing society much more than we realized.

The National Transportation Safety Board released a study in July of last year highlighting the fact that speeding is one of the most common factors in car crashes across the nation. The group utilized a number of qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze how prevalent speeding is and how dangerous speeding is statistically.

The extensive study sourced data from speeding-related crash data, surveys and interviews with safety stakeholders from various law enforcement agencies, research institutions, equipment vendors and automobile manufacturers.

The study concluded that speeding increases both the likelihood of being involved in a motor vehicle accident and the severity of injuries sustained in a crash. It identified an astonishing 113,000 deaths were caused by speeding between 2005 and 2014. This shocking number is comparable to the number of individuals who lost their lives in alcohol-related collisions.

Despite the American population’s understanding of the dangers of speeding, most consider the behavior both acceptable and common. It’s clear that the impacts of speeding are often underestimated, overlooked and ineffectively countered by law enforcement agencies.

In response, the National Transportation Safety Board suggests more effectively utilizing measures that are already in place and removing barriers that restrict the use of automated speed enforcement in some areas.

Research shows that speeding cameras do help enforce speed limits, and these measures have the potential to save lives by reducing speeding. CBS News explains how only 14 states and Washington D.C. utilize speed cameras.

Changing the public’s perception of speeding will help alter their behavior. Driving more safely starts with learning the truth about speeding and its consequences. The National Traffic Safety Board’s study reported almost one in three traffic deaths involved a speeding vehicle. Speed cameras and GPS tracking speed alerts can help deter our speeding habits even when law enforcement isn’t present, and decreasing our speeds saves lives.

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