The Road and Traffic Authority of New South Wales claims that “speeding… is a factor in about 40 percent of road deaths.” Data from the NHTSA puts the number at 30%.
Speeding also increases the severity of crashes; “in a 60 km/h speed limit area, the risk of involvement in a casualty crash doubles with each 5 km/h increase in travelling speed above 60 km/h.”
Speeding relative to the speed limit isn’t a problem, it’s actually just a proxy for speeding relative to other drivers. That’s why going slow is also dangerous. Two cars colliding given the same geometric sum won’t have any impact on one another, but if they’re in different directions that’s obviously different.
Just because something is a factor in a number of negative outcomes doesn’t mean it’s causal. Further, the severity may be increased, but I’d say more often than it’s cars which fail to speed or decrease speed in compensation for another drivers speed that causes the problem. If a driver sticks at the speed limit when a driver around them is not, that’s just trouble.
Consider illegal street racers—there’s a race every Friday for several hours on a major highweigh near my house. Police know about it, and make a couple of interceptions every time, but those fellas are pretty fast. I don’t know they just don’t put speed cameras up, but that’s besides the point. The point is that there has never been an accident, as far I know. Those drivers are aware and speed indifferent.
Perhaps it’s speed limits, rather than speeders causing increased road dangers. Speed limits were originally implemented to curb pollution, anyway.
I also want to point out that aggressive driving, at least for me, is addictive. I love to accelerate and weave in and out of traffic. Because of this reinforcement that’s incompatible with my drive for safety, speeding in this way is incompatible with how I want to drive so I’m trying to cut down anyway. I don’t have a problem making notes on my phone while driving though—my memory isn’t good and I would be a lot less productive if I had never made all the notes I have over my life while driving.
Speeding relative to the speed limit isn’t a problem, it’s actually just a proxy for speeding relative to other drivers. That’s why going slow is also dangerous. Two cars colliding given the same geometric sum won’t have any impact on one another, but if they’re in different directions that’s obviously different.
Just because something is a factor in a number of negative outcomes doesn’t mean it’s causal. Further, the severity may be increased, but I’d say more often than it’s cars which fail to speed or decrease speed in compensation for another drivers speed that causes the problem. If a driver sticks at the speed limit when a driver around them is not, that’s just trouble.
Consider illegal street racers—there’s a race every Friday for several hours on a major highweigh near my house. Police know about it, and make a couple of interceptions every time, but those fellas are pretty fast. I don’t know they just don’t put speed cameras up, but that’s besides the point. The point is that there has never been an accident, as far I know. Those drivers are aware and speed indifferent.
Perhaps it’s speed limits, rather than speeders causing increased road dangers. Speed limits were originally implemented to curb pollution, anyway.
I also want to point out that aggressive driving, at least for me, is addictive. I love to accelerate and weave in and out of traffic. Because of this reinforcement that’s incompatible with my drive for safety, speeding in this way is incompatible with how I want to drive so I’m trying to cut down anyway. I don’t have a problem making notes on my phone while driving though—my memory isn’t good and I would be a lot less productive if I had never made all the notes I have over my life while driving.