Law enforcement urges drivers to slow down

This summer, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region 7, which includes Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, is teaming up with local law enforcement agencies to keep drivers and passengers safe by raising awareness about the dangers of speeding and urging drivers to obey speed limits. From July 10-31, law enforcement officers in your community will be on higher alert for speeding vehicles while participating in the Speeding Slows You Down campaign. If you’re pulled over for speeding, expect to receive a ticket!

In addition to the three-week awareness campaign, Region 7 will be teaming up with Region 5, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin to conduct a maximum day of enforcement on Wednesday, July 26, to emphasize the need for everyone to obey all posted speed limits.

Not only is speeding illegal, it’s also deadly. In 2021, speeding killed 8,462 people, accounting for nearly one in five highway fatalities. Tragically, there was nearly an 8 percent increase in speeding-related crash fatalities from 2020-2021. NHTSA and local law enforcement agencies want to remind drivers that, no matter how seasoned you are as a driver, ultimately, Speeding Slows You Down.

“We are asking our community to please slow down,” NHTSA Regional Administrator Susan DeCourcy said. “Our goal is to save lives, and we’re putting all drivers on alert — the posted speed limit is the law. There are no excuses.”

Much like impaired driving, speeding is a selfish choice that can have deadly consequences for the driver, vehicle passengers, and pedestrians. Speeding reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely around another vehicle, a hazardous object, or an unexpected curve. Even the safest cars with the newest technologies are limited in how much they can help reduce the odds of a crash if traveling at speeds faster than the posted limit.

Seasons and weather seem to have little effect on the frequency of fatalities from speeding. According to NHTSA, the monthly percentage changes for speeding-related fatalities 2021 were higher than the monthly percentage changes for total traffic fatalities in January, February, August and October.

Alcohol and weather also increase the likelihood of a crash while speeding. In 2020, 37 percent of the drivers involved in fatal crashes were speeding and had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher, compared to 17 percent of non-speeding drivers. Additionally, the chances of a vehicle crash on wet roads increase drastically when a vehicle is speeding.

Speeding appears to be just one part of an overall disregard for safety. In 2021 there were 1,728 passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes who were simultaneously unrestrained, alcohol-impaired, and speeding — a 5.8 percent increase from 1,634 in 2020.

This summer, remember that Speeding Slows You Down, and drive the posted speed limit. For more information, visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/speeding