US DOT report confirms speed not major cause of accidents
Sometimes numbers lie. But we keep them around because they tell the truth more often than not. The NHTSA undertook a two-and-a-half year study that examined 5,471 injury accidents nationwide in order to figure out how accidents were being caused. Government researchers conducted their own evidence gathering at crash sites in order to establish a first-hand account of causation. What did they find? Among other things, that more drivers crashed as a result of crossing the center line (11%) than as a result of speeding (5%). Speeding, in this case, defined by "too fast for conditions," not necessarily above the posted limit.In accidents where driver error was the cause, speeding also came in last as a causative: the 8% who drove too fast were tied with the 8% who fell asleep or had heart attacks while driving. What's more, the NHTSA's causation percentages are strikingly similar to the percentages found in an independent study conducted by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. In its study of crashes in 2007, the VDoT found that 2.9% were due to speeding -- dead last -- while 3.8%t were due to drivers falling asleep or falling ill at the tiller.
What will this mean to the politicians setting and revising speed limits based on the "Speed Kills!" mantra? Probably nothing. But it's nice to know, and nice to have the government researched numbers to back it up.
[Source: The Newspaper]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
intthis 10:31AM (12/18/2008)
i believe it was our own jeremy clarkson who said,
"speed has never killed anyone... it's suddenly becoming stationary that does it..."
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Pdexter 10:39AM (12/18/2008)
Haha.
Had the exact quote in my mind and was just going to post it.
Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary... that’s what gets you - JC
mmstowes 10:42AM (12/18/2008)
While I disagree with him on certain topics, I've long subscribed to Mr. Clarkson's school of common sense. I'm certainly not an advocate of wreckless driving on public roads, but then, I also know better and have seen the aftermath of some pretty bad accidents.
intthis 10:46AM (12/18/2008)
pdexter - haha, i knew i didn't have it quite right... i'm still mostly asleep.
glad i'm not the only one who reads an article about crash safety and immediately goes to the well of clarkson quotes on the subject...
happy_penguin 10:59AM (12/18/2008)
Speeding has nothing to do with accidents in many cases. I regularly drive ten to twenty miles per hour over the limit on the interstate when conditions permit. I don't race up on cars ahead of me or weave in and out of traffic. I don't talk on the cell while doing this. I don't suddenly go from the leftmost lane to the rightmost lane because I'm about to miss an exit. If I'm going to miss the exit, I miss it and come back around the next exit. I watch all around me and I slow the hell down when it's raining or snowing.
cFoo 11:09AM (12/18/2008)
oh wow. It's like you just read my mind. First post too, kudos to you!
Seriously though, it's a slap to the face for the insurance industry. The speed limits and most of the silly restrictions on the roads have nothing to do with safety. It's all in the interests of the insurance industry. Most of it is masked in the name of safety.
Jorge 10:33AM (12/18/2008)
The image is wrong: speed is not the thing that kills you, is the sudden stop!! And the things that causes more accidents are stupidity and self awareness.
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bh 10:35AM (12/18/2008)
It's not so much that excessive speed is going to cause you to crash, but the crash is much more severe if you do.
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RITmusic2k 10:35AM (12/18/2008)
These days, it's a lot more sexy to go after speed limits for fuel economy reasons anyways.
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Mobius_1 10:42AM (12/18/2008)
The way cars are developing, heart attacks while driving will be as likely as heart attacks while asleep.
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moyoi 1:26PM (12/18/2008)
....when toyota reaches 70%+ market share. People will be sleeping at record rates!
jg 10:43AM (12/18/2008)
'What will this mean to the politicians setting and revising speed limits based on the "Speed Kills!" mantra? Probably nothing. But it's nice to know, and nice to have the government researched numbers to back it up.'
Speed Kills works because it uses common sense reasoning. It's wrong as usual but effective for it's purpose.
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216 10:54AM (12/18/2008)
Could the day finally come where Speed limits are erased?
Not as long as they bring in $$
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CH 4:15PM (12/18/2008)
The results of the study tells us very little about whether speed limits should be raised or eliminated, because all the data was collected with the existing speed limits in place. In other words, we have data from the "before" but none from the "after" where, for example, the speed limit is raised to 50 mph in the current 40 mph zones.
Keep in mind also that roads and highways are designed for specific maximum speeds. Those maximum speeds determine the design of the intersections, traffic controls, signage, on/off-ramps, road surface, tightness and banking of the curves, shoulders, medians, safety devices, etc. Speed limits cannot be eliminated without massive redesign and rebuilding of the infrastructure.
Ben 10:54AM (12/18/2008)
Thank you US DOT for the study.
Next study - how too slow drivers kills (or get killed). =]
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Galley 10:59AM (12/18/2008)
My Driver's Ed. teacher taught us to stay with the flow of traffic, no matter how fast, or slow it may be going. It is the difference in speed between two vehicles that is dangerous, not necessarily the speed you are traveling.
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That One Person 4:31PM (12/18/2008)
I was told pretty much the same thing.
I don't do much freeway driving but there have been a few times when the person in front of me decides to come to a dead stop because they see a vehicle in front of them going a couple miles per hour slower. What pisses me off though is that 99% of the time, the vehicles in front of me just fly up to the vehicles in front of them. And the majority of the time, I can't see those vehicles (sometimes it sucks driving a car).
Graydog59 8:21AM (12/19/2008)
And yet we still allow states to impose slower speed limits on trucks which essentially makes them stationary objects to cars traveling at much higher rates of speed. ie: California's 55 mph for trucks and 70 mph for cars, who in reality are traveling at 75 mph or higher.
rockinrobbie 11:00AM (12/18/2008)
speed may not be the major cause of the accident, but I'm sure its the major influencer in fatalities and injuries.
Your impact force goes up *dramatically* when your speed goes up
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Matt B 12:03PM (12/18/2008)
Yes, but only when talking about dramatic differences in speed- 30MPH vs 60MPH. And the higher speeds the difference is less- 75 vs 85 is not a big difference. And I'm only talking about what the human body can stand. Yes, the impact force is greater for 85, but the human body couldn't stand it at 75, so going 85 doesn't matter.