When you are running late or there’s an open highway in front of you, it can be tempting to floor the gas pedal. But speeding puts the driver and everyone else on Kingsport’s roads in danger of a serious, life-changing car accident.
Speeding does not get as much media attention as drunk driving or driving while distracted by a cellphone. But it is one of the biggest causes of death on American roads. In 2021, 12,330 people were killed in traffic collisions related to speeding, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That figure represents 29 percent of all traffic deaths that year. Over the past 20-plus years, speeders have been responsible for about a third of all fatalities in car accidents. This does not include the thousands and thousands of nonfatal but very serious injuries suffered in the U.S. each year by victims of speeders.
How speeding can kill
Speeding raises the risk of a crash in several ways:
- The faster a vehicle goes, the more potential the driver has of losing control.
- Increased speed generates greater force on impact, leading to more severe injuries.
- Less time to brake to avoid potential danger due to needing more space to stop.
Speed limits are there to minimize car accidents. Those who choose to exceed them are at risk of more than a speeding ticket. They are also negligently increasing the chances they will cause a terrible incident in which an innocent person (or people) will become permanently disabled or worse. For that reason, Tennessee law states that a driver who harms someone else due to negligent behavior (such as speeding) can be held financially responsible for that harm.