While car accidents that result in serious injuries can have many causes, speeding is one of the most common factors. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that speed-related crashes claimed the lives of more than 11,000 individuals in 2020.
Learning about the correlation between speeding, aggressive driving and serious car crashes may help new drivers operate their vehicles more safely and avoid actions that so often lead to life-changing injuries.
Why drivers speed
State legislators set city speed limits in both urban and rural areas to protect motorists from changing road conditions and to keep citizens safe. However, many drivers speed for a number of reasons, including:
- Running late for work
- To reach an appointment on time
- Frustration over traffic patterns/movement
Speeding and aggressive driving often go hand in hand, and as annoyance turns to aggression, the risk of an accident tends to rise.
Aggression and car accidents
As aggression in frustrated drivers builds and causes them to exceed the speed limit, the more these individuals chance to experience a serious crash. Aggressive driving is dangerous and can cause even experienced drivers to lose control of the vehicle, crash into stationary objects and drastically reduce their ability to brake in time to avoid striking cars stopped at lights or intersections. Driving aggression may also reduce empathy for others and cause drivers to take risks that breach the duty of care for others on the road.
Motorists can avoid the consequences of aggressive driving and speeding by leaving early for work or an appointment and by using a traffic app to plan ahead and locate areas where traffic congestion and construction may cause delays.
