Speeding

Speeding is cited as a major factor in nearly one-third of motor vehicle crashes. The issue deserves the same attention and emphasis as occupant protection and impaired driving programs in reducing deaths and injuries from motor vehicle crashes.

Setting speed limits has traditionally been the responsibility of states, except for the period of 1973-1994. During that time, the federal government enacted mandatory speed limit ceilings on interstate highways and so-called interstate look-alike roads through the National Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL) policy. The NMSL was repealed in 1995, and most states have raised speed limits since the repeal.

In 1999 and again in 2003, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) funded research to study the effects of the repeal of NMSL. In both studies, researchers expressed concern about the societal cost of speeding. According to IIHS, higher travel speeds on rural interstates are responsible for an average 35 percent increase in death rates.

In 2005, GHSA surveyed the states to gauge what speeding reduction efforts states and territories are undertaking. GHSA asked state highway safety agencies to complete a questionnaire, which was returned by 47 states as well as Guam, the District of Columbia and the Indian Nations. GHSA's survey found:

  • Crash report forms vary from state to state, making regional comparisons difficult. Some states are able to isolate speeding-related fatal and injury crashes while others are not.
  • Speeding-related crash data, if available, is available statewide in most instances. Speeding-related citation and/or conviction data is not as frequently collected or maintained in a statewide database.
  • Aggressive driving defined in few state's statutes, although that number is increasing. Some states use informal definitions; others use other statutes such as reckless driving. See the most current laws on GHSA's Aggressive Driving laws page.
  • Geographic and demographic data isolated to speeding (crashes or citations) is not readily available in a statewide database format.
  • Most jurisdictions have not isolated speeding in terms of targeting federal highway safety funding. Rather, speeding was most often included as one of several components of funded activities (such as one of several focus areas of a Selective Traffic Enforcment Program.)
  • Nearly all respondents reported a public perception that there exists a cushion above a posted speed limit in which officers will not cite offenders. The range most often reported was 5-10 miles per hour above the posted limit.

A copy of the full report, Speeding, is available online. The most current speed limit laws are also available online.

GHSA places a great deal of emphasis on the problem of speeding drivers, and has issued a call to action urging NHTSA to place greater emphasis on speeding. Specifically, GHSA urges NHTSA to:

  • Actively endorse speeding and red-light camera programs
  • Conduct more speeding-related research
  • Develop a national anti-speeding communications campaign