Sep 1, 2009 | 2 min read

Speeding Drivers: Major Cause of Injuries and Deaths On Interstates

My Injuryboard blogging injury attorney/colleague Steve Lombardi of Des Moines, Iowa, and another Injuryboard editor, Wayne Parsons, are injury attorneys that are always asking thought-provoking questions about injury prevention. They not only write about injury law, but they are some of the only United States attorneys that wonder why we can’t prevent more injuries or deaths on interstate highways. In Virginia and North Carolina, we are criss-crossed by I-95, I-64, I-81, and many other major interstates,and we read about car and truck crashes and injuries every day. So, a discussion about interstate highway speed limits, and speeding drivers is a good conversation to cover with regard to injury prevention.

Lombardi was recently discussing his love of speed (this is probably a simple male instinctual trait) and how that tension and dissonance interfaces with his desire as a Des Moines injury lawyer to see less accidents on interstate highways. Based on the review of a number of safety studies involving interstate highway accidents, injuries, and deaths one of the most interesting statements that Lombardi found in a study was the following:

Speeding is one of the most prevalent factors contributing to traffic crashes. It reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely around curves or objects in the roadway, extends the distance necessary to stop a vehicle, and increases the distance a vehicle travels while a driver reacts to a dangerous situation. Higher crash speeds also reduce the ability of vehicle, restraint system, and roadway hardware such as guardrails, barriers, and impact attenuators to protect vehicle occupants.

Hawaii injury attorney Wayne Parsons discussed why speeding and higher interstate speed limits are both significant area variables in deaths and injuries on the interstate highways, and Devon Glass, also wrote about how speeders are causing a higher rate of injuries and deaths than other drivers. I plan to keep reading and writing on this topic as my injuryboard colleagues chime in on interstate injury prevention.

Here are some of my Injuryboard colleagues interesting stories about speeders and the synergy effect combined with speed limits on interstate highways:

Are Double-Bottomed Semis More or Less Dangerous to You? – Lombardi, Who wins and loses when a Ford Focus and a fully-loaded semi-truck crash? – Lombardi Hawaii Freeway Chronicles #1: What Are The Danger Points On H-1, H-2 and H-3?, Wayne Parsons The Interstate Highway Graveyard, "Speed Kills", Why Speeders on the Highway Cause More Serious Accidents, Lombardi Why Speeders on the Highway Cause More Serious Accidents – Devon Glass