So it goes that we have a third party to add to our blog series. I think I speak for both Steve Lombardi at the Lombardi Law Firm, and myself at the Grewal Law firm, when I extend a hearty welcome to Wayne Parsons from the Wayne Parsons Law Offices in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii.
Yesterday, both Wayne and Steve wrote about the dangers of speeding on interstate highways. No matter the state, whether that state is Michigan, Iowa or Hawaii, speeding drivers cause a huge danger to others. As Wayne so aptly stated, people love to speed on the Interstate Highway System, going as fast as they can and getting upset with those who choose to follow posted speed limits.
Steve mentioned that when he first learned how to drive, he was instructed that for every ten miles an hour, you need at least one car length to safely stop without rear ending the driver in front of you. Additionally, as Steve pointed out, drivers are more distracted than what they were even 10 to 15 years ago. With the advent of texting, drivers cannot possibly be as focused, and therefore as safe, as they were before texting existed. In fact, driving while texting increases the risk of collision by 23 times compared to when a driver is completely focused on the road. I cannot begin to imagine what the increased speeds of the interstate highway contribute to those omnipresent dangers.
Speed limits on the interstate vary to upper and lower extremes across the country. Michigan and Iowa represent the higher extremes of 70 mph, while Hawaii tends toward the lower at 60 mph. I’m not sure if these are still accurate for Iowa and Hawaii, so perhaps Wayne and Steve can correct me if I’m wrong. Nevertheless, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety argues that some of these new, higher speed limits in the Midwest and elsewhere are costing lives. In fact, it estimates that deaths on highways and the interstate freeways have increased 15% due to the higher speed limits. Some researchers, such as those in the AOL article link I provided, will argue that speed actually decreases the number of accidents. However, these aren’t the pure facts. While higher speeds may keep some slower drivers off of the interstate, it boils down to the truth of the matter that higher speeds cause more serious injuries, including death. Indeed, speed influences the risk of crashes and crash injuries in three basic ways:
· It increases the distance a vehicle travels from the time a driver detects an emergency to the time a driver reacts.
· It increases the distance needed to stop a vehicle once an emergency is perceived.
· It increases the “crash energy” by the square of speeds—when an impact speed increases from 40 to 60 mph, the energy that needs to be managed increases by 125%. In other words, the crash impact is going to be astronomically greater than if you were going at a slower speed.
Anyway, enough about physics. The point is speed does kill. It may be faster (and more fun) to speed, but it just isn’t safe. Slow down and follow the posted speed limits.
Here’s a video on the impact of speed. Albeit a video created in the UK, but speed doesn’t discriminate who it will kill by country of origin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77MoOl5o5aM
