People often think that they’re skilled enough to drive faster without actually increasing the risks that they face. That’s why so many people break the speed limit. They don’t see it as gambling with their lives as they try to get to their destinations more quickly.
However, studies have found that’s exactly what they’re doing. For instance, experts looked at the potential impact of raising speed limits, and they found that doing so could lead to more serious injuries and fatalities on the road. The link, they felt, was unmistakable.
“There’s a direct correlation between higher speed limits and more serious crashes on these roads. That’s the trade-off,” one expert said. “Political leaders and traffic engineers have to decide on whether they want that trade-off.”
Why does this happen? Even if you think that you’re not more likely to crash when you drive faster, you still increase the odds of a fatality. The more speed and energy that enter into an accident, the more severe the potential injuries.
In other words, even if your odds of crashing at 45 miles per hour were exactly the same as the odds of crashing at 85 miles per hour, the risk is still higher because you’re far more likely to die at 85 MPH than you are at 45 MPH. All accidents become more severe and more people lose their lives when drivers insist on going faster.
Have you lost a loved one in an accident with a speeding driver? If so, it is important for you to understand all of the legal rights that you have.