Speeding,  THE FACTS:

SPEEDING

Speed is involved in about one out of three fatal crashes, according to NHTSA.

There are many reasons why people speed. According to Focus on Safety: A Practical Guide to Automated Traffic Enforcement,  drivers speed because:

• They’re in a hurry.
• They’re inattentive to their driving.
• They don’t take traffic laws seriously; they don’t think the laws apply to them.
• They don’t view their driving behavior as dangerous.
• They don’t expect to get caught.
• Some or all of the above.

Speeding results in:

• Lives lost – over 10,219 in 2012 - www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/
• Work zone crashes and fatalities – speed was a factor in 27 percent of fatal crashes in construction and maintenance zones in 2005.
• Unsafe school zones – compliance with lower speed limits is poor.
• Economic costs -- speed-related crashes cost society over $40 billion annually, according to NHTSA. Every minute "gained" by speeding to a destination costs U.S. society over $76,000.

People often think of highways as a major factor for speeding fatalities, perhaps because speeds are highest on highways. But the vast majority of speeding-related fatalities happen on roads that are not interstate highways. NHTSA's 2006 fatality data shows that 47 percent of speed-related fatalities occurred on roads posted at 50 mph or less, and more than 20 percent occurred on roads posted at 35 mph or less.

Sourcces: www.nsc.org  (National Safety)