Certain criminal acts, like assault and muggings, have a victim left injured or traumatized by the behavior of another person. The public sees such crimes as particularly serious because they can affect someone’s health and mental well-being.
Compared to violent offenses, legal infractions like speeding may seem victimless. Many people claim that police officers only enforce speeding laws as a way to generate revenue for their department. While writing tickets can be a way for the state to generate revenue, that is not the reason that speeding is against the law.
When people significantly exceed the posted speed limit, they put everyone else at risk of worse outcomes if a crash occurs.
Speeding makes driving more dangerous
The state establishes a speed limit based on how many miles per hour (mph) someone can safely drive on a particular road given the housing density and traffic conditions. When people go over that posted limit, they increase their chance of a wreck. They also increase how severe the wreck might be if one occurs.
For every 10 mph someone increases their speed, their risk of a fatal crash roughly doubles. Traveling at 50 mph is twice as deadly as traveling at 40 mph. Despite the increase in risk with higher speeds, some drivers will exceed the limit by 10 or even 20 mph.
Speeding affects driver performance
The faster someone travels in their vehicle, the less control they really have. Their stopping time will increase. Frantic maneuvers, like a swerve, could result in a rollover instead of someone successfully avoiding a squirrel in the street.
Traveling at higher speeds means that someone just doesn’t have the time to react properly to a vehicle in front of them or a child in the road. It also means they will cause much worse damage to other vehicles and injuries to vehicle occupants when they cause crashes. If someone clearly exceeding the speed limit caused a wreck that damaged your car or left you injured, you can potentially file an insurance claim. In certain scenarios, you may even have grounds for a civil lawsuit.
Learning more about the rules that apply to car crash claims can help you seek justice when a speeder affects your life.