Speed contributes to approximately 560,000 accidents each year. Fifty-three percent of those incidents caused injuries. Even more shocking, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2021, speeding was a cause in almost one-third of all fatal car accidents, representing a 14-year high. Moreover, the speed at which a driver is going directly impacts the severity of the accident. This is everything an experienced car accident lawyer wants drivers to know about speed and accident severity.
A Greater Impact
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that in 2022, the average vehicle weighed 4,329 pounds. Even an impact at a slow speed with an automobile of that size can lead to injuries and damage to another vehicle. As speed increases, the impact that a heavy item will have on another vehicle or property only rises.
At 25 or 30 miles per hour, the driver and passengers may survive the accident with very little injury. However, if the driver increases the speed to 60 to 70 miles per hour and the same accident occurs, the force is more than double due to the amount of kinetic energy. At this point, fatalities could happen instead of injuries. Injuries could also be much more severe than they’d be in a lower-speed accident.
Less Control Over the Vehicle
When a driver is going faster, they can’t control the vehicle as well. Steering becomes less effective when a driver is going at higher speeds. An accident could easily happen if the person isn’t able to navigate curves or avoid obstacles because of speed. When traveling the speed limit, the person may be able to react and avoid an accident completely or only get into a minor one.
Speeding affects every driver’s ability to control their vehicle because more careful handling and more distance between the automobile in front of them is necessary. For this reason, a driver has less room for error.
Lower Margin for Stopping
Typically, it takes a vehicle four to six seconds to stop if the driver is going 60 miles per hour. This time includes how long it takes the driver to react and actually stop the automobile. On average, a car needs 180 feet to stop when the driver is traveling at this speed.
If the driver is in a heavier vehicle, such as a truck or SUV, the time it takes them to stop increases because the extra mass requires more time to slow down. The driver also might not stop as effectively if the tires have poor tread. Even the type of tires, whether they’re all-season, summer, or winter, and the conditions the driver is maneuvering through play a role. Because gravity is acting against the driver, if they’re going downhill, they’ll need more time to stop. When the road is icy or wet, the person will take even longer to stop and need even more room.
All the factors that affect braking make traveling at a reasonable speed even more essential to prevent accidents. Even if a person doesn’t avoid an accident completely, being able to slow down before an impact can reduce the intensity of the collision.
Less Time to React
A major part of driving safely is identifying a problem and responding appropriately. When a person is accelerating more quickly, they have less time to recognize a threat. By the time they notice, it may be too late to react, resulting in a more serious accident than if they’d had enough time to respond.
Safety Features Become Less Effective
Based on the laws of physics, your seatbelt and other safety features are less effective at higher speeds. The seat belt, for instance, may prevent the person from being thrust forward, but the force of a high-speed impact is too much for the seatbelt to stop completely. The person could still suffer serious injuries for this reason. The airbags may not have time to deploy quickly enough to prevent injuries.
Plus, the person could experience injuries to internal organs from the force of the seatbelt at high speeds. Impact with an airbag at high speeds could also cause severe injury.
When a driver is going faster than they should, they put themselves and others at risk. The severity of the accident worsens when the speed increases. Even the safety features meant to protect drivers and passengers won’t help as much whenever a person is driving too fast.
