Speed is a major cause of injuries and deaths on North Carolina roadways. Consider these 2016 statistics:
- There were 369 speed-related deaths and 18,956 speed-related crashes.*
- Speeding was a contributing factor in 24 percent of all fatal crashes.
- 88 percent of speed-related fatalities occurred on non-interstate roads (with posted speed limits of 55 mph or less); 12 percent occurred on interstate highways.
The Governor's Highway Safety Program's Speed a Little. Lose a Lot. annual campaign reminds drivers of the dangers of speeding and the potential consequences: the loss of a life.
Dangers of Speeding
A crash on a road with a speed limit of 65 mph or higher is more than twice as likely to result in a fatality as a crash where the speed limit it 45 or 50 mph, and nearly five times as likely as a crash where the speed limit is below 40 mph.
Speeding:
- Reduces a driver's ability to negotiate curves or maneuver around obstacles in the roadway
- Extends the distance traveled before a vehicle can stop
- Increases the distance a vehicle travels while the driver reacts to a hazard
- Increases the risk of crashes and injuries, because other vehicles and pedestrians might not be able to judge distance correctly
*The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration considers a crash to be related to speeding if the driver was charged with a speeding-related offense, or if the responding officer indicates the driver was either driving too fast for the road conditions at the time or was exceeding the posted speed limit.