Essay Sample on Speed Limits: A Driver's Responsibility to Prevent Accidents

Introduction

Drivers often face the temptation of driving fast and over speeding. To some people, driving gives the driver a tremendous perception or sense of power that is unstoppable and impenetrable at times. However, they fail to understand that power comes with responsibility. A driver is liable for driving at the set speed limits put in place according to the road condition, and to prevent collisions and accidents. Nevertheless, many people fall victims to over speeding beyond the legal speed limits. As such, speeding refers to driving faster than the government-mandated speed limit. It is also defined as driving fast that the road condition can handle. People speed for many reasons; some for fun, to get to work or appointments earlier etcetera. As a result, some people fail to pay attention to their driving behavior and breach traffic rules. While some may not get caught over speeding, excessive speeding kills, inflicts horrible damage on the driver, vehicle, pedestrians, and nearby objects.

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Excessive speeding leads to road carnage, destruction of property, injuries, and death. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stipulated that one-third of vehicular classes involve speeding drivers (NHTSA, 2019). As such, an estimated thirteen thousand people die every year in the US due to speeding automobiles. Excessive speeding is the third leading contributing factor to road accidents after drunk driving. According to the NHTSA 2017 statistics, speeding contributed to 26% of all traffic fatalities (NHTSA, 2019). Therefore, speeding endangers the life of the driver as well as pedestrians and other people around them such as traffic enforcement officers. Excessive speeding increases the likelihood of a road accident. At high speeds, it becomes extremely difficult to stop in case of emergencies such as an animal or pedestrian crossing the road. Bringing a car to a stop requires the driver's perception and reaction time to control the automobile and the braking capacity of the vehicle. Very high speeds inhibit the driver's road awareness and time taken to respond in an emergency (Bartley, 2008). Furthermore, excessive speeding increases the braking distance which may result in injury, fatalities and even death. In other words, high speeds reduce the driver's reaction time making it too late to effectively respond to an emergency. Besides that, in case of emergencies at high speeds, drivers panic applying emergency or hard braking increasing the likelihood of a fatal crash.

Excessive speeding costs society more than $40 billion per year ("The Dangers of Speeding," n.d.). The economic costs of excessive speeding add heavy burdens on the taxpayers. During road accidents, there are fatalities and road damages. Damages could be in the form of destroyed vehicles, road signs, barriers, and even government or private buildings. These damages require monetary expenses to repair. As such, the money that could have been used in positive economic activities is redirected to meet the accident-related expenses. Moreover, excessive speeding increases the wear and tear of a vehicle. This loses the vehicle's reliability and durability. It, therefore, implies that one has to replace the vehicle sooner than expected.

On the other hand, a person caught over speeding gets a ticket that could range between $150 and $1000 (Bartley, 2008). Those caught excessively speeding pay higher fines. Speed ticketing affects a person's finances which could otherwise be avoided if the traffic rules were followed. Similarly, excessive speedy drivers face the danger of losing their licenses. Speed limit violations add points to an individual's license. If a person accumulates enough traffic violation points, the license may be suspended. Once a license is suspended, one loses the privileges of driving and can only use public transport to work or school among other activities.

Excessive speeding leads to a hike in insurance. Factors such as age and driving record have an impact on auto insurance. Motor vehicle insurance rates are directly intertwined with the likelihood of filing a claim. Excessive speeding increases the risk of getting into an accident or receiving a speeding ticket. Speeding tickets negatively affect insurance premiums since they are not equal. Some speed tickets have a little effect on insurance while others cause a huge hike in the premium rates (Bartley, 2008). A negative driving record leads to added costs in terms of the insurance premium and vehicle maintenance. For instance, extremely fast driving could lead to a charge of reckless driving that could lead to a misdemeanor where one can serve in jail and have a criminal record or pay additional fees. Such instances raise the insurance premium and pocketbook. Some insurance companies offer low rates to drivers with a clean driving history; those who have gone for a long time without causing an accident or traffic violation. Speeding tickets mean loss of reduced pocketbook rates. Further, in extreme cases where speeding drivers inflict traffic rules and cause accidents, they may become uninsurable. Although it rarely happens, a person may be forced to buy government insurance since private insurance companies may consider such drivers too risky. Therefore, driving at the designated speed limits does not hurt as compared to excessive driving. There are added benefits of maintaining a clean driving history.

Vehicles lose maneuverability at high speeds. Excessive speeds reduce the amount of control a driver has on a vehicle especially around bends or corners where evasive action is required ("The Dangers of Speeding," n.d.). Similarly, at high speeds, it is difficult to determine the speed of other road users due to speed variance. Speed variance leads to the increased risk of an accident particularly while overtaking another vehicle or simply changing lanes. It could happen that the other driver could be driving at the same speed and due to poor judgment, changing the lane or overtaking results to an accident. Apart from that, driving at excessive speeds also leads to increased costs on fuel consumption. At high speeds, to maintain momentum or increase pace, vehicles burn more fuel to increase throttle output. Therefore, at high speeds, fuel economy is lost and more money is spent on refueling (Bartley, 2008). Such unnecessary expenses on fuel, injuries, and medication could be avoided by driving at the stipulated speed limits.

Conclusion

In conclusion, excessive speeding is dangerous to the driver, other road users, and property. Speeding leads to deaths, fatalities, damages, and destruction to property. Driving at excessive speeds inflicts traffic rules and could result in a speeding ticket or even a charge on reckless driving. Speeding tickets and traffic infractions affects one's driving history which results in increased insurance rates. Drivers with a negative driving history are viewed as a risk by insurers. Insurance companies tie insurance premiums with the likelihood of filing a claim. Therefore, a person with numerous traffic infractions incurs more costs on insurance premiums. Similarly, speed tickets affect the driver's license points. Accumulated points could lead to the suspension of the driver's license. On the other hand, excessive speeding leads to wear and tear of the vehicle which implies added maintenance costs. Also, at high speeds, drivers lose on fuel economy and spend more on fuel. Similarly, at excessive speeds, vehicles lose maneuverability increasing the risk of road carnage. The dangers of excessive driving outweigh the benefits. It is wise to drive at the designated speed limits to save lives and avoid the added cost on society. Drivers should be responsible citizens in terms of their health and the safety of those around them. Traffic rules are there for a course such as to avoid unnecessary loss of lives, accidents and property damage. There are numerous advantages of maintaining low speeds and having a clean driving history.

References

Bartley, G. P. (2008). Traffic Accidents: Causes and Outcomes. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Publishers.NHTSA (2019). Speeding. Retrieved from https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812687

The Dangers of Speeding. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.spiveylaw.com/blog/the-dangers-of-speeding/