Speeding and Accidents In American Canyon
I’m Ed Smith, an American Canyon car accident lawyer. American Canyon is a relatively small city located without many major thoroughfares. However, despite a lack of long, open roads, speeding is still American Canyon’s number one cause of accidents resulting in traumatic injury.
The Numbers
According to research data compiled by the University of California’s Berkeley campus, 48,262 injury-related accidents occurred in American Canyon from the beginning of 2010 to the end of 2016. The data shows that 16,011 of these accidents involved a speeding violation as the primary collision factor, meaning that 33.18 percent of all traumatic crashes in American Canyon are the fault of speeding violations.
The rate at which speeding violations cause traumatic accidents in American Canyon is more than double that of the next-most-common accident-causing violation, improper turning, which was the primary factor in only 13.84 percent of the accidents in question.
What Makes Speeding so Dangerous?
Speeding is dangerous for many reasons. For one, driving faster means that you have less control of your vehicle. Fast-moving cars are more difficult to maneuver and often can’t avoid obstacles on the road. Attempting to avoid an obstacle in a fast-moving vehicle can cause you to lose control and even cause your vehicle to overturn. Additionally, the faster a vehicle is moving, the more time it takes for that vehicle to stop. Drivers in fast-moving vehicles are often unable to avoid accidents because they simply can’t stop in time.
Another factor that makes speeding dangerous is that drivers don’t anticipate vehicles that are traveling much faster than normal traffic. When drivers can’t anticipate the actions of other vehicles in the roadway, they are less able to avoid potential accidents.
Speeding also reduces the effectiveness of vehicle safety equipment such as airbags and seat belts while simultaneously increasing the potential severity of a collision.
Speeding and Road Conditions
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that the dangers of speeding aren’t only related to driving faster than the speed limit. Speed can also affect the safety of vehicles that are driving under the speed limit but too fast for the conditions of the road. Conditions that call for drivers to reduce speed include inclement weather, poor lighting conditions, ongoing road repairs, and more.
Why Do People Speed?
Although there is never a good reason to speed, people drive at unsafe speeds frequently. The top reasons for speeding include rushing to get somewhere, not paying attention to how fast a vehicle is moving, and disregarding the law.
No matter what the reason, speeding is dangerous and can leave people with serious and even fatal injuries.
More Blogs from American Canyon Car Accident Lawyer, Ed Smith
American Canyon Car Accident Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, an American Canyon car accident lawyer. Car crashes can leave people with serious injuries. If you have received significant trauma during a collision, contact me at (707) 564-1900 for free and friendly advice. If you are outside the area, feel free to use (800) 404-5400 or visit autoaccident.com instead.
Since 1982, I’ve helped American Canyon area residents reclaim the full recompense they are owed in claims that include personal injuries and wrongful death.
My client reviews are on Yelp, Avvo, and Google.
I’m in an organization called the Million Dollar Forum. The forum contains some of the top U.S. trial attorneys with prior settlements and/or verdicts worth over one million dollars.
See my Past Settlements and Verdicts here.
AutoAccident.com is Northern California’s best site for getting info on vehicle accidents and personal injuries.
pic: “school zone-speedlimitsignandlight” by Lan56 under CC A-SA3.0U
:ms [cs 633] cv