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Many drivers speed to save time and arrive at their destination faster. However, speeding is one of the most dangerous road behaviors and rarely has the positive outcomes people want. Part of curbing dangerous driving behavior is dispelling common myths about speeding and emphasizing the importance of sticking to the speed limit. These 10 reasons why speeding is dangerous should help you decide to kick the habit.
According to a report from Trail Net, speeding contributes to nearly a third of all fatal car accidents in St. Louis County. The more you speed, the more likely it is that you will get into a car accident.
In addition to being more likely, crashes that involve speeding drivers are significantly more deadly than crashes at lower speeds. The reason has to do with simple physics: an object’s kinetic energy increases proportionally to the square of its velocity. That means when you double the speed, you quadruple the kinetic energy.
For example, a car traveling at 40 mph has nearly four times the kinetic energy as a car moving at 20 mph and sixteen times as much kinetic energy as a car moving at 10 mph. Higher forces from an excessively speeding car lead to more grievous injuries and a higher likelihood of death in speeding accidents. Experts estimate that every ten mph increase in speed doubles your chance of dying in a car accident.
When you speed, you are less able to handle your vehicle. Cars react much faster to driver changes when moving at high speeds, and there is a greater chance that the driver will lose control. Cars moving faster have less road traction and are significantly less stable when factoring in crosswind speeds. It’s harder to change a car’s direction the faster it moves, too. Vehicle handling also gets exponentially worse when speeding during inclement weather like rain or snow.
Drivers must quickly stop when a driver pulls out in front of them, or a pedestrian is crossing the street. The faster you are traveling, the longer distance it takes to stop your vehicle. The stopping distance is roughly proportional to the square of the speed, so doubling your speed makes the stopping distance four times longer. A longer stopping distance can vastly increase the risk of accidents at crosswalks, stoplights, and any other places where drivers might need to do a complete stop. Even a small difference of 10 mph can increase stopping speeds by as much as 44%.
Similar to the previous point, when you drive too fast, you have less time to react to changes in the road or traffic ahead of you. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the typical driver requires about 1.5 seconds to respond to a stimulus and engage their car’s brakes. The faster the car is moving, the more distance it covers in those 1.5 seconds, and the more likely you are to collide with whatever is in your way. Slower speeds give you significantly more time to adjust your behavior to changing road conditions.
Manufacturers design cars to operate at specific speeds for extended periods. Going too fast too frequently damages car components, causing them to wear out faster than usual. For instance, speeding puts a greater strain on your suspension system, which can cause it to become damaged and wear out faster. Frequent speeding also causes your engine to be less fuel-efficient, so you’ll spend more on repairs and gasoline.
Speeding and aggressive driving share a close connection. Speeding is one of the most common displays of aggressive driving and leads to more cynical and careless driving behavior. Speeding drivers often display other negligent behaviors, like weaving between cars, tailgating, fast lane-changing, and closely passing other drivers.
Aside from the physical danger to your health, speeding is illegal and can get you in trouble. When you get pulled over for speeding and get a speeding ticket, you can incur fines. Additionally, the police might arrest you if you are driving excessively fast. Careless and imprudent driving is a Class B misdemeanor under Missouri law and can become a Class A misdemeanor if you cause an accident (RSMo 304.012). A Class B misdemeanor in Missouri carries a penalty of up to six months of jail time and fines of up to $1,000, while a Class A misdemeanor can incur up to a year of prison and up to $2,000 in fines.
When you speed, you aren’t just putting yourself at risk. A speeding car puts everyone else on the road at risk, including:
High-speed drivers are likelier to hit pedestrians, cyclists, and other non-motorists who use the roads. Driving at the speed limit helps keep you safe and makes everyone around you safer, too.
Most people speed because they want to get to their destination faster. However, speeding doesn’t actually make much of a difference to travel times. Research and surveys have found that on average, speeding saves only about six minutes of driving time. The less overall distance you travel, the less time speeding saves. Do you think a paltry six-minute time save is worth all the other potentially drastic consequences of speeding?
Speeding is dangerous and causes thousands of injuries every year in St. Louis. We want to hear from you if a speeding or negligent driver has injured you. Send us a message online today or call our law firm at (314) 231-4100 for a case consultation with a St. Louis car accident lawyer. We can discuss the circumstances of your accident and explore your options for pursuing compensation for your accident-related losses. Learn more about how our attorneys can help you by checking out our notable cases.
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