A Cincinnati, Ohio-area teenager was killed recently when the sports utility vehicle (SUV) in which he was riding hit a wall along an interstate. Witnesses indicated that the SUV flipped multiple times before coming to a complete stop. The 16-year-old was thrown from the vehicle and later died at an area hospital. Police investigating the crash indicated that the teenager was not wearing his seatbelt. While law enforcement believes that alcohol was a contributing factor in the crash, speed also played a role. According to investigators, the SUV was traveling at approximately 80 miles per hour in a posted 65 mile per hour zone when it crashed into the wall.
In our modern society, speeding is, unfortunately, a common occurrence. Whether a person speeds because they are late or simply because they have a proverbial “lead foot,” statistics show that a majority of drivers on the road speed. A survey conducted by Farmers Insurance Group revealed that almost 70% of drivers admitted to speeding. This same survey showed that 36% of people regularly exceed the speed limit by five or more miles per hour, and 22% admit to regularly exceeding the speed limit by ten miles per hour or more. It is estimated that, on any given day, 112,000 motorists will receive a speeding ticket. Annually, approximately 41,000,000 people receive speeding tickets.
Speeding Endangers Lives
While the number of speeding tickets issued in Massachusetts is on the decline, for some habitual speeders a speeding ticket is nothing more than an inconvenient part of life. What a person might not realize is the danger in which they place themselves and other motorists when they speed. Speeding increases the time necessary to bring a vehicle safely to a stop and decreases the amount of time a driver has to react to avoid hitting another object. Speeding during inclement weather (such as rain, sleet, or snow) is even more dangerous. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Safety Council (NSC), speeding is a factor in approximately one out of every three fatal crashes.
Vehicle crashes can cause significant injuries to other motorists and passengers, including broken bones and spinal cord injuries. A speeding driver who causes a crash can not only be assessed a criminal fine but can also be held responsible for damages in a civil suit. This is because a driver who is found to be speeding, and who causes a car crash or strikes someone or something, may be found to have been driving negligently. In other words, speeding or driving too fast may be used to show the driver was not acting in a reasonable manner. As a result, the speeding driver and his or her insurer may be responsible for an injured party’s medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and other monetary damages.
Speeding not only increases the likelihood that a crash will occur but also the likelihood that a crash will involve severe or life-threatening injuries. If you or a loved one has been injured by a speeding driver, contact us at (508) 755-7535 for a free consultation.
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