I live in a residential neighborhood in Roanoke City. Our neighborhood also has tons of kids but few sidewalks. Being health-minded, my wife and kids try to incorporate exercise into the daily routine as much as possible.
They play outside, walk to school when possible, and ride bikes.
We live on a hill and every morning when my wife leaves with the kids, I watch as they walk toward the school. I also see drivers with phones and coffee cups in hand speeding past, obviously late for work-again.
And I think to myself- how much time could they possibly be gaining? 5 seconds, maybe 10. But certainly not enough to make up for the extra 10 minutes they overslept.
So why do people speed? Why would someone risk injuring or killing themselves or an innocent child to save 10 seconds?
Hard to believe, but some studies actually suggest that speeding is encouraged in our culture. All of us have seen racy commercials for cars that show a handsome driver speeding along a curvy, ocean-side highway. We have seen others that show the car doing out of control donuts or speeding past the competition in a street race. The advertisements show drivers using the product in an unsafe manner. In automobile commercials, everyone is beautiful, everyone is happy and no one dies.
Most drivers believe that driving too fast is not a serious offense. They tend to believe that they are better drivers than they actually are and also believe that a crash will not happen to them.
Drivers also tend to believe the only negative consequences of speeding are citations issued by police officers. Many drivers believe that driving just 7-8 mph is acceptable because police officers will not issue a ticket for the offense.
But there are serious consequences for speeding:
In 2009, 33,808 people in the U.S. lost their lives in a crash where speed was a factor (census.gov).
Speeding increases the risks of crashes and injuries for several reasons:
- the driver is more likely to lose control of the vehicle.
- the distance it takes to stop the vehicle is greater.
- safety features of the vehicle may not be as effective when involved in a high speed crash.
- the vehicle is more likely to rollover
And if that’s not enough to make someone think twice about speeding:
- Virginia ranks 7th in the country for number of speeding tickets issued
- On average nationwide, 112,000 people receive speeding citations every year.
- In Virginia, drivers will have to pay court costs, a fine, increased insurance premiums and possibly attend a Driver Improvement Class.
Common types of speed related crashed include:
- Speeding car vs. pedestrian
- Speeding vehicle vs. bicyclist
- Single car accidents on rural roads
- Multiple vehicle accidents where racing was a factor
- Driving too fast for road conditions
- DUI and Speeding
Throughout my 20 year career, I have litigated several car accident cases where speed was a factor. The injuries from speed related crashes are often severe, a few of the cases have involved wrongful death. A few cases involved racing, other times, speed and alcohol use were both named as factors. Whatever the contributing factors for the accidents were, the families involved suffered greatly.
If you need to find a car accident lawyer in Roanoke, call The Thomson Law Firm for a free consultation today.(540) 777-4900
