Excessive speed is a factor in almost a third of all motor vehicle accidents around the country according to figures from the National Transportation Safety Board, and the federal safety watchdog has called on the nation’s lawmakers to treat motorists in Georgia and the rest of the U.S. who ignore posted speed limits as seriously as they do drunk drivers. A study of accident data collected between 2005 and 2014 reveals that crashes involving excessive speed claimed 112,580 lives on America’s roads.
Motorists in most states face an automatic suspension of their driving privileges when toxicology testing reveals their blood alcohol levels to be .08 percent or higher, but the penalties for speeding are generally far less severe. Getting behind the wheel after drinking or taking drugs is now looked down upon by society, and an NTSB representative said that it was time for speeding to be viewed in the same manner.
In addition to urging legislators across the country to pass tougher speeding laws, the NTSB has called for more widespread deployment of law enforcement tools like speed cameras. While research has established that these devices are an effective deterrent and reduce speeding, they are still illegal in many states. The agency also wants the way that speed limits are set to be revised so that safety is a primary consideration.
Personal injury attorneys will at times consider speed to be a possible factor when car accidents cause significant harm. While few drivers are eager to admit that they were exceeding posted speed limits when they crashed, the electronic data stored by their automobiles may be used to determine how fast they were traveling in the moments prior to a collision.