The Dangers of Speeding and the Influential Factors

We all seen it… that one person flying thru the roads at tremendous speeds, going left and right, almost hitting the car next to it. When it comes to the road, speeding is no exception, we all have done it at some point. Now, what is the reason people speed on the roads?. Well according to “ Drive-safely.net”, 70% of speedsters are men, ages from 16-34. Age influence a lot on the road, especially with today’s teenagers. Teens feel over confident when it comes to driving, they think they're capable of handling that many horsepower, and that they won't crash or hurt someone else. Therefore they start to race each other going at high speed on the roads. Teenagers aren’t the only ones who get overly confident, Men to get overconfident. Most men think that, just because they have more experience than teens it won't happen to them, but thats when there wrong. Being to confident can lead to accidents. Now, women are no exception from speeding either, but there less likely to speed than a man, 30 % of women speed making it far less than man. Even though, women speed less than men, there less confident behind the wheel, making them change speed all the tile and not be constant. Women either speed over the speed limit or they go slower what the speed limit is. This makes men get impatience and start to tailgate the car until they get a opportunity to pass. Most men aren’t good at being patient so that’s why they speed more than women. Putting them more in danger and putting the civilians around them in danger also. These are just some reason why people speed on the roads, but the reason always change through time.

According to the NHTSA in 2017, nearly 10,000 people die due to speeding. Making speeding a quarter of deaths on the roads, not taking into account traffic fatalities. The consequences of speeding are far greater than you expect. Innocent people die because of careless drivers who speed for no reason. Men under 25 years old are most likely to cause accident due to their aggressive behavior behind the wheel. Teens speed due to racing their sports car against their friends. Trying to prove whos car is faster and in the process they lose control of their vehicle and kill innocent people. Nothing comes good out of speeding, specially when the conditions aren't good. Speeding can also make insurance more expensive than it already is, as you are most likely to crash. This makes everyone insurance more expensive since it affects them too. Also, it can in danger the environment, by going faster you consume more fuel than going at speed limit, contaminating the air with CO2. Speeding doesn’t just kill people it also kill animals, animals crossing the road. According to the ‘Psychology today website’, its says “ more than one million of animals die in the u.s. every day”. This changes the rates of wildlife road mortality, some animals can or will go extinct if we don't slow down. By slowing down and reducing speeds, we can avoid hitting animals or losing control of our vehicle. But most importantly, you can keep yourself safe and other innocent civilians safe to. The risk of losing one of our loved ones, is to high, therefore we should drive like responsible adult and be cautious behind the wheel. 

Works cited

1. Drive-safely.net. (n.d.). Why do people speed? Retrieved from https://www.drive-safely.net/why-do-people-speed/
2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2018). Speeding. Retrieved from https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/speeding
3. Psychology Today. (2017). The impact of speed limits on road safety. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201701/the-impact-speed-limits-road-safety
4. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. (2019). Speeding. Retrieved from https://www.iihs.org/topics/speed
5. National Safety Council. (n.d.). Speeding is a serious problem. Retrieved from https://www.nsc.org/road-safety/safety-topics/speeding
6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Impaired driving: Get the facts. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired_driving/impaired-drv_factsheet.html
7. United States Department of Transportation. (2018). Safety facts: Speeding. Retrieved from https://www.transportation.gov/fastlane/safety-facts-speeding
8. Road and Travel Magazine. (n.d.). Dangers of speeding while driving. Retrieved from https://www.roadandtravel.com/safetyandsecurity/dangers-of-speeding-while-driving.html
9. American Automobile Association. (2019). Traffic safety culture index. Retrieved from https://www.aaafoundation.org/traffic-safety-culture-index
10. Insurance Information Institute. (n.d.). Auto safety. Retrieved from https://www.iii.org/article/background-on-auto-safety