US DOT Report Confirms Speed Not Major Accident Cause

theNewspaper.com ^ | Dec. 15, 2008 | Unknown

[decimon]

US Department of Transportation study finds only five percent of crashes caused by excessive speed.

As lawmakers around the country continue to consider speed limit enforcement as the primary traffic safety measure, the most comprehensive examination of accident causation in thirty years suggests this focus on speed may be misplaced.

[Loud Mime]

With California’s financial crisis, I look for larger fines and increased enforcement.

I’m getting my bicycle fixed today.

[decimon]

Journalism is like throwing a hand grenade -- getting close is good enough.

I'll guess that this makes more sense in the original than in the abstract. But I'm not willing to find out.

[NRA1995]

No doubt in my mind that many accidents are caused by idiots texting while driving, or diving to the floor to pick up the dropped CD.....

[bobjam]

The speed limit is supposed to be the 85th percentile speed measured under free flow conditions. The 85th percentile speed is based on how drivers use a road. If the road has a lot of twists and turns, drivers naturally drive slower, resulting in a lower speed limit. Artificially low speed limits condition drivers to disrespect the sign- which leads to problems on roads where exceeding the speed limit could easily have fatal consequences.

[decimon]

abstract = extract

[Wil H]

and that he was indeed born in Hawaii. Do you think they're lying?

What's your point? you can go through a windshield if you hit a brick wall while travelling 25mph if you are not wearing a seat belt.

It's speed DIFFERENTIAL that causes more accidents than speed itself, ie a mix of fast and slow traffic,or the sudden slowing of the traffic flow, that is more dangerous than cars all driving at high speed.

[theDentist]

"Whiskey bottle, brand new car,
Oak tree, you're in my way..."

...."That Smell" -Lynyrd Skynyrd

[Travis T. OJustice]

I’ll bet jackasses who ride in the left lane when not passing actually cause a higher rate of accidents.

[org.whodat]

How about the A-holes driving 10 miles an hour below the speed limit in the fast lane with a cell phone stuck up their Hole.

[Wil H]

OOoops! sorry, re transmit...:-)

How about Fatalities?

What's your point? you can go through a windshield if you hit a brick wall while travelling 25mph if you are not wearing a seat belt.

It's Speed DIFFERENTIAL that causes more accidents than speed itself, ie a mix of fast and slow traffic,or the sudden slowing of the traffic flow, that is more dangerous than cars all driving at high speed.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

“Don’t just carp; what’s fishy?”

Probably crappie data collection methods, plus grouper-think at the DOT.

I love to drive fast, just for the halibut. Anything for a cheap krill.

[oh8eleven]

Distraction and not paying attention to the road accounted for 41 percent of the errors.

[Arrowhead1952]

US DOT Report Confirms Speed Not Major Accident Cause

That is like saying no one ever dies from falling off a 25 story building. It's the suddens stop that kills people.

[mewzilla]

From the NHTSA stats I've seen, survbivability is directly affected by speed. IOW, the slower the vehicle's going, the better your chances for surviving the accident. And if you're somewhere that's not near a good trauma center when you have you're crash, maybe going that ten miles over the speed limit wasn't such a great idea.

I will admit to some bias here. We had a family member killed in an MVA when she was hit by someone exceeding the speed limit. It's left me with an interest in accident safety issues.

[Paladin2]

"I thought it was SUVs"

That's why it's not speed (except for speeding SUVs).

The ultimate cause of car crashes is building the cars in the first place, followed by actually letting people drive them.

All we have to do is drive all the auto manufacturers out of business and the issue will be resolved.

[glasseye]

“Enforcement of speed laws is a revenue generator for local government.”

Ding ding ding.....we have a winner!!!

[CE2949BB]

I'm a crappy driver and I acknowledge it, so I always drive at a safe speed and am very cautious.

I never - never - drive with even a drop of alcohol in me, either.

Putting my life at risk is one thing. Putting the lives of innocent people at risk is something else entirely. (I'd rather not be responsible for the next Jacqueline Saburido.)

[familyop]

Tailgating, improper lane changes, too fast for conditions, failures to yield: a few pushy, antagonizing bullies on the road—both men and women. ...and yes, most of them in larger vehicles for the wrong reason. ...spoiled rotten individuals. Maybe the depression will take many of them down.

[BOATSNM8]

My beloved Austin, Tx. has a somewhat new police chief(from LA) that has decided to ramp up speed enforcement. This city used to be so laid back and didn't really sweat the minor traffic stuff. Now you have to be paranoid all the time. As far as I know, we weren't a dangerous city before. Lean times account for more fines.

[Seruzawa]

The ineffectiveness of speed enforcement has been proven several times. The local govts use speed enforcement because is a lazy way to fill the local retirement fund coffers. Every time I see one of these donut munchers staring at his radar gun I think of how many REAL crimes are being committed. How many domestic abuses and school drug deals occur while these revenuers betray the public trust?