Speeding

Perceived Threat of Others Speeding

 

While many drivers believe that the speed limits on interstates should generally be higher, 68% of survey respondents feel that other drivers' speeding is a major threat to their own personal safety.  Perceptions of this threat increase significantly with age, from just 48% of drivers age 16-20 believing speeding by others is a threat, to 86% of those ages 65 or older.  More than three-quarters of drivers feel it is at least somewhat important that something be done to reduce speeding on all road types.

Perceived Change in Aggressive Driving in Others

 

Drivers believe that others are driving as or more aggressively now as they were one year ago. Specifically, compared to a year ago, 40% of drivers feel other drivers are driving more aggressively; 52% of drivers feel other drivers are driving as aggressively; and only 6% feel other drivers are driving less aggressively.

Speeding Violation Statistics

Speeding is one of the most common traffic violations.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), speeding is a pervasive behavior with about three-quarters of drivers driving over the speed limit on all types of roads.  One in every six people gets a speeding ticket.  About 112,000 drivers on average are ticketed each day for going too fast (about twice as many are stopped).  Almost 41 million speeding tickets are issued in the U.S. each year, which comes out to about 1 each second.

 

  • Total number of licensed drivers in America today..............................196,000,000
  • Total percentage of drivers that will get a speeding ticket this year.............. 20.6%
  • Average number of people per day that receive a speeding ticket.............. 112,000
  • Total annual number of people who receive speeding tickets................ 41,000,000
  • Average cost of a speeding ticket (including fees)........................................... $152
  • Total paid in speeding tickets per year............................................ $6,232,000,000

According to USA Today, March 12, 2019, these 10 cities have the most aggressive drivers in the nation.

Speeding Accident Statistics

About 30% of all traffic deaths that occur each year are caused by a speeding driver.  An estimated 10,000 people are killed in speed-related crashes each year according to the NHTSA.

 

Accidents caused by speeding don't just cost the injuries and deaths of the people involved; it's estimated that their total economic impact averages about $40 billion a year.  The average increase in insurance for one speeding ticket over a period of 3 years is around $900.  This means that the insurance industry makes around $36.9 billion just on speeding tickets alone.

 

Young men are most often behind the wheel when a speeding-related accident results in a traffic death.  In 2011, 39% of male drivers aged 15 to 20 and 37% of those aged 21 to 24 involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time the accident occurred.  Speeding is an all-around bad idea, especially for younger drivers. Breaking the speeding habit can be tough but learning to slow down a little can save you money and potentially even your life and the lives of others.

Why Drivers Speed

Source: Focus on Safety: A Practical Guide to Automated Traffic Enforcement

 

  • They’re in a rush
  • They’re not paying attention to their driving
  • They just don’t think the laws apply to them
  • They don’t think their driving is dangerous
  • They don’t think they will get caught speeding
  •  

 

Any reason a driver gives for speeding will never be worth the potential costs.