It should come as no surprise that speeding is the primary cause of fatal vehicle collisions. How fast the vehicles involved are going can be a significant factor in the severity of the injuries that occur.
That’s why law enforcement agencies and safety advocates across the country have been alarmed at just how much over the speed limit some drivers are traveling when they’re caught. In recent years, more drivers and motorcyclists have been clocked at over 100 miles per hour (mph).
The faster a vehicle is traveling, the greater the impact is if it strikes another vehicle (and it can easily be fatal if it hits a bicyclist or pedestrian). If two or more speeding vehicles collide, that impact is multiplied.
The increase in speed has been attributed in part to the significant decrease in traffic (and visible law enforcement presence) during the height of the pandemic. Even as life got back to normal, these bad habits stayed with a lot of drivers. That led to “slow down” safety campaigns in Tennessee and other states that focused on the dangers of excessive speeding. They seem to have had some success.
Tennessee fatalities have been dropping
Here in Tennessee, dangerous driving, including speeding, has decreased in the past few years. According to the Tennessee Integrated Traffic Analysis Network (TITAN), the number of crashes involving “speeding, racing, reckless driving, or aggressive driving” in our state dropped between 2021 and 2023 from over 11,700 to under 10,000 statewide in 2023. The number of traffic deaths in our state decreased by 14% in 2024.
It can be somewhat reassuring to know that at least the numbers are going in the right direction. However, that doesn’t change the fact that if a person is seriously injured or killed by a speeding driver, the emotional and financial fallout can be devastating for a family. That’s why it’s crucial to get experienced legal guidance as soon as possible to help ensure that victims or surviving loved ones get the compensation they are due to cover medical expenses, lost income and other damages.