Speeding Car Accidents
Speeding is one of the leading causes of car accidents with severe injuries. It’s no wonder with hectic schedules, having responsibilities at home or at the office, maintaining your health, and all the other things that make life meaningful, people think that if they do things faster that it will save them time. But that reasoning could get deadly when used behind the wheel to justify fast speeds, especially in inclement weather. Even though people are doing a lot less driving these days, some people have false confidence in the safety of the roads given that fewer people are driving on them. The problem lies in becoming too complacent in times of less traffic and assuming that it’s safer to go faster than it really is.
If you’ve been injured in a car accident and speeding was a major factor or even the most important factor in your injury, then contact the car accident lawyers at The Pendergrass Law Firm in Gwinnett County. You may be entitled to damages. The speed limit it set and enforced in Georgia for a reason: to protect people. When a negligent speeder harms an individual, we are ready to stand by the victim’s side and fight for their rights.
Speeding Car Accident Statistics
In Gwinnett County specifically, the Governor’s Office Of Highway Safety In Georgia has reported that alcohol and speeding are two of the top causes of accidents. Speeding was the cause of five fatalities in the county in 2015 but has been on a steady decline since then. Nationally, 9,378 people were killed in 2018 due to speeding and getting into wrecks, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. They also reported that in 2017, speeding was a contributing factor in 26% of all traffic fatalities that year.
Why Speeding Is Dangerous
When a person is speeding they have less time to react to road conditions. On the highway, especially in construction zones, speeding means you have less time to react to road debris or other cars. If you are speeding in a neighborhood, then you could potentially injure or kill someone who is biking, jogging, or out walking their dog. In fact, it is often because people are too quick to get somewhere that they may roll through stops and go above the speed limit.
Due to the laws of physics, it takes a great amount of force to stop a vehicle that is moving quickly. In order to make a full stop, the driver needs more room in front so they can decelerate without losing control of the vehicle. If someone is speeding then they don’t have enough time and distance to react. They may also make wide turns that either hit other drivers, or even pedestrians.
There are also economic damages that people can suffer from as a result of speeding crashes:
- The loss of income from the time a person is unable to work
- An accident can also severely limit one’s educational opportunities, especially if they were studying a field that they can no longer be part of due to their injury.
- If a person is severely injured then there will certainly be high costs associated with their medical treatment, including necessary physical therapy and perhaps even occupational therapy.
- Speeding car accidents affect victims by destroying personal property, such as their car. Public property may also be damaged.
Speeding also increases your fuel costs. It’s much more efficient to run your vehicle closer to the speed limit then it is to drive it fast or to accelerate often. By obeying the law you can potentially save money.
Why You Need A Car Accident Lawyer Gwinnett County
If you have been injured in an accident due to speeding, call The Pendergrass Law Firm today for your free consultation. If you have been injured. then your focus should be on your health and well-being, rather than how you’re going to pay for recovery. Leave that to us to fight for you. Call us today to see how to best help you.