During Illinois Speed Awareness Day this July 26th, Illinois State Police (ISP) District 19 is taking a proactive approach to promote safety for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists through both education and enforcement. In Illinois during 2015, speed was the reason for 34.2% of all fatal crashes. That’s 369 deaths for the year, or one life every 23.7 hours. These lives can be easily saved by being aware of our speed and understanding how speeding impacts a crash.
In rural areas, speeding can have the following consequences:
• Crash severity increases with the speed of the vehicle at impact resulting in more severe injuries.
• 37% of the speed-related crashes result in injuries.
• When speeding there is a greater chance that other road users will misjudge how fast you are
traveling.
• Speeding extends the distance required to stop a vehicle in emergency situations.
• A 1% decrease in travel speed reduces injuries by about 2%, a serious crash by 3%, and a fatal crash by 4%.
• Speeding reduces a driver’s ability to navigate safely around curves or farm machinery on the roadway.
Let’s all do our part by taking a proactive approach to prevent fatalities and reduce injuries on the roadways by being aware of our speed and obeying the speed limit signs ALL the time. If you would like more information about Illinois Speed Awareness Day, please visit www.illinoisspeedawarenessday.org.
