The Dangers Of Speeding While Driving
The National Road Safety Administration estimates that road accidents cost society 871 billion dollars a year.
The study is based on the traffic accidents that occurred in 2010 and their economic impact; during that year, 3.9 million people suffered injuries and 24 million vehicles were damaged.
The study cites several behavioral factors that contributed to the enormous cost of road accidents.
This includes alcohol consumption, 199 billion dollars (23%); speeding, $ 210 billion (24%); not paying attention to the wheel, 129 billion dollars (15%); deaths and preventable injuries attributable to passengers who did not wear seat belts, $ 72 billion (8%).
In 2010, more than 3,350 people died and 54,300 were seriously injured just from excessive speed at the wheel.
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Why Is Speeding Dangerous?
- The human factor is one of the elements most frequently involved in speeding traffic accidents. The driver is responsible for acting properly, therefore he must not only comply with the regulations governing circulation, but also adapt his personal conditions to driving. People of between 25 and 34 years old make up the age group most at risk of having a speeding traffic accident.
- The layout of the road can cause an accident: straight lines, curves, asphalt status, signaling, etc. An interesting fact is that about 60% of speeding-related accidents occurred on smooth lines or curves. Weather conditions like ice, rain, snow, wind, day or night, also affect accidents.
- The vehicle and its age is one of the factors to take into account in traffic accidents. The lack of maintenance of a vehicle (brakes, steering dampers, tires, lighting) is in some cases, directly responsible for the speeding accident.
Most Common Types of Accidents Involving Speeding
Head on collision: It is the violent encounter between two or more moving vehicles. The impact is given and received on the front of the involved cars.
Rear end collision: It occurs when a vehicle is driving at a lower speed than the one that precedes and then gets hit on the rear. Harmful results are usually lower because of the difference in speeds between the vehicles involved.
T-Bone collision: It occurs when a vehicle crashes against the side wall of another that is in motion.
Intersection Accident: Consists of a multiple cars colliding at an intersection
Why Does Speeding Cause Accidents?
- The greater the speed, the greater the accident rate
According to WHO, the increase in average speed is related to the probability of the occurrence of a traffic accident, as with the severity and consequences thereof it is estimated that a 5% increase in average speed causes an increase of up to 10% in crashes causing injuries, and 20% in accidents involving fatalities.
- At higher speeds, greater driving errors
The National Road Safety Administration also brings important data on accidents in the United States and the incidence of errors in driving when we exceed speed limits.
Some of them are summarized below:
- The speed depends largely on the driver’s familiarity with the road. The greater the knowledge of the road, the greater the speed.
- Smooth curves are the most dangerous stretches when you are driving with excessive speed. The cause is the driver’s overconfidence of the.
- In an intersection, the possibility of emergency evasive maneuvers are smaller if the speed is higher.
- When it rains, 24% of the accidents that occur are because the speed is inadequate.
- 83% of accidents due to speed are due to the fact that the driver does not adapt his driving to the circumstances that surround him (rain, fog, difficult terrain, high traffic, etc.).
- The risk of an accident when the driver takes a curve at an incorrect speed is tripled.
Higher Speed Equals Greater Risks
The National Road Safety Administration also draws attention to the incidence of speed in accidents.
According to figures from this important organization, speed causes 40% of the accidents there are in the country, the following groups being the most vulnerable: cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians (especially the elderly population).
What Is the 3 Second Rule?
Three-second rule: Every driver should know and pay attention to the three-second rule.
When the car in front passes a fixed object, such as a tree or telephone pole, count slowly “thousand, two thousand, three thousand.”
If you reach the object before finishing the count, you are following the car ahead of you too closely.
If you get double the tracking distance, about 6 seconds, then you are going too slowly.
Common Injuries Suffered From Speeding Accidents
Fractures
Fractures are very common in speeding traffic accidents, as head and limbs often take the worst part of the collision.
Blows to the dashboard and windshield can cause cranial and facial fractures, which may require surgery, and usually take weeks or even months to heal completely.
There are fractures that require, in addition to surgery, the use of osteosynthetic material, which is used to achieve the union of a fractured bone when traditional means, such as plaster, are not sufficient.
The most common materials are screws, plates, and nails that are attached to each of the fractured parts to join them together.
Ruptures
These types of injuries, unfortunately, are also very common in speeding traffic accidents.
In the case of broken bones in the arms and legs, surgical interventions are accompanied by rehabilitation sessions and special physiotherapy for injuries caused by this type of accidents.
Traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury is another frequent type of wound in speeding traffic accidents, especially in motorcycle accidents and road accidents, where the head strikes violently against the ground or against one of the involved vehicles.
Depending on the force of the blow received, the consequences can be more or less serious; from contusions, to important neurological injuries, which are just some of the most common injuries.
In all cases, regardless of their severity, each injury requires adequate and specialized rehabilitation treatment.
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Most Common People to Speed
Speeding and alcohol are the main causes of traffic accidents involving young people under 25 years of age worldwide. What is happening?
The figures are clear: our young people are dying in traffic accidents. Neither sickness, nor violent death take as many lives annually as those that unfortunately get lost behind the wheel.
The World Health Organization warns that every year 400,000 young people are killed in a traffic accident and “several million more” suffer injuries or become disabled because of this.
“Most of these deaths occur in low and middle income countries, and among the most vulnerable users of the road network: pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and public transport users.”
How Can you Avoid a Speeding Accident?
90% of traffic accidents are due to human failure: due to alcohol abuse, speeding, ignoring signals, inappropriate distances, drug use, medication, fatigue, distraction, etc.
Because of this you must:
- Drive with the vehicle’s safety features (firetruck, beacons, trailer toll) and your mandatory daily insurance.
- Get to know emergency phones (911), even from family, friends, or acquaintances.
- Keep a safe distance with the vehicle ahead.
- Be aware of poor road conditions
- Always drive defensively.
- Always wear a seat belt.
- On rainy days, or when there is snow, ice or fog, keep twice the normal distance.
- It is dangerous to use a car with an airbag without a belt, since it becomes hazardous. The two have to work together.
- Always have your vehicle with at least basic and proper maintenance up to date, this means; have brakes that are perfectly aligned to avoid wear, the tire tread must have a suitable depth of 3 mm, etc.
- Never use cell phones when driving; if you have to do so in the wake of an emergency, stop by the side of the road and make your call or send a message. If not, you can use hands-free devices with voice identifiers to make calls.
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