The Dangers Of Speeding Essay

Drivers who speed often do not realize the enormous danger they are creating. When someone is speeding they have a higher braking time and are often going too fast to notice all of their surroundings, and fail to take all of the safety precautions a driver should use. Road conditions play a large role in the effects of speeding. Choosing to speed can also get a person’s license taken away, cost a fortune, or both.

Firstly, Virtually all current production vehicles' published road braking performance tests indicate stopping distances from 60 miles per hour that are typically 120 to 140 feet, slightly less than half of the projected safety distances. However, these figures are probably achievable, but they are not realistic and certainly not

average; they tend to be misleading and to those that actually read them, they create a false sense of security. Now based on realistic calculations, it is apparent that there is a large difference in the reported performance tests and reality. Assuming a deceleration rate of 32 fps (1g), calculations indicate a braking stop time of 2.75 seconds (88/32). Distance traveled now is calculated to be 121 feet, which is for all practical purposed, the published performance figures, excluding reaction times. One of the dangers of speeding is the reduction of the period that a driver may take to stop. The more a driver speeds, the less the period of time that he or she has to react in case of a situation on the road or any obstruction. Speeding is a major factor in road accidents since it is a cause of more than thirty percent of all the fatal accidents that happen on the highway. These accidents cause the death of more than one thousand Americans each month. It has been estimated that speed related crashes costs to be above forty billion dollar in every year. Therefore, speeding drivers do not pay attention to other motorists and their surroundings. They may not realize or care about the dangers that they are creating on the roadways, but they will be caught and reprimanded for their carelessness.
Second, most speeding drivers do not account for poor road conditions such as fog, rain, puddles etc. One of the most common traffic crash causes today is hydroplaning. Hydroplaning refers to the loss of contact with the surface of a road due to the thin water layer that exists on the wet roads; this moisture on the road’s surface reduces the tires tread and greatly increases the likelihood of a hydroplaning accident. Unfortunately, the driver of hydroplaning vehicles is typically unable to control the car. When the vehicle is at the mercy of its momentum, the driver, passengers, and all other drivers on the road are in great danger. The average amount of weather related car accidents involving over speeding is 8.4 percent in the US. The posted speed limit is for ideal road conditions (dry pavement and no precipitation).
Thirdly, speeding can lead to the suspension of a driver’s license to operate a motor vehicle.

On top of that there are also some hefty fines that will help a driver learn his or her lesson. The average speeding ticket in the US is 150 dollars, but the faster a person drives the more costly a speeding ticket becomes. Drivers have the choice to fight their citation in court instead of just paying the fine, a lot of speeding drivers often do. If the driver decides to do this, the officer then assigns them a traffic court date. Drivers who take their fine to court normally do so because they disagree with the reason they were pulled over or believe they have a justifiable explanation for speeding. There is not good reason for speeding hence the saying “better late than never”. A driver who goes to court usually ends up paying the fine they received in the first place along with court fees. Not to mention the effects a speeding ticket has on one’s insurance. Just one speeding ticket can skyrocket an average policy holder’s premium as much as 22 percent according to an analysis of over 490,000 policy quotes. There are a lot of things that money could be spent on than a speeding ticket. Most states also employ a points system and when an individual acquires a certain amount of points (ten points in most states) the state will suspend an individual’s license. Now the driver can take a Defensive Driving course to deduct 2 points from their record, this can be done once every 24

months. Traffic school helps to show drivers why speeding is harmful, and to improve their driving habits. Along with enduring the nine hour class, a driver sent to attend traffic school must pay for it also. Given the choice most convicted drivers would not take the classes due to the cost and time investments required. One more way speeding can get into a person’s pocket book is all the fuel a vehicle consumes maintaining a high speed. While each vehicle reaches is best fuel economy at different speeds, gas mileage often begins decreasing at 55 miles per hour. Just reducing their speed from 65 miles per hour to 55 miles per hour a driver can increase their fuel economy by as much as 15 percent. According to the US Department of Energy, drivers can assume that for every 5 miles per hour over 60 miles per hour they drive is like paying an additional 21 cents per gallon of fuel. Therefore speeding is costly whether a driver is caught and given a citation or not.
In conclusion, intelligent drivers will stay on the safe side and leave room for reaction time and less than perfect conditions. But, there are still 4 out of 5 drivers in the US that believe it is okay to speed. Hopefully that margin will decrease, and more drivers learn to pay attention to the need to react quickly. Driving is not about how fast a driver can get to his or her destination. It is about obeying important safety laws and regulations that help keep drivers out of harms reach while on the road, enjoying the ride and the privilege of having a license to drive, getting there safely and in one piece.