It has been long held by many commuters and local transportation officials that raising the speed limit would not have a safety impact, but would have a tremendous positive impact on traffic flow. A recent study by AAA and the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (IIHS) found that increased speed limits actually do have a tremendous negative impact on the safety of drivers. Driving just slightly faster could seriously affect your safety in a Connecticut auto accident.
First, it is known that increasing speed limits encourages drivers, who already currently drive over the speed limit, to increase their speeds. This means that if a highway is set at 65 MPH and drivers currently average 75 MPH on that same highway, increasing the speed limit to 70 MPH would encourage drivers to be driving over 80 MPH. This is the unintended consequence of raising the speed limit.
The study looked at what increasing speeds would mean on roads and found some troubling information. In crash tests conducted as part of the study it was found that for every 6 MPH faster a car is traveling the rate of accident and severity of injury increases dramatically.
Take for instance the increase from 50 MPH to 56 MPH in the test. At 50 MPH the accident impacted the driver side door and the foot area of the driver. When the speed was increased by just 6 MPH there was significant compromise of the vehicle and the crash test dummy set off sensors indicating a driver would have experienced serious neck injuries and bone fractures.
While more studies need to be conducted, the fact remains that the faster you drive, the greater the impact and the greater the severity of your injuries will be if you’re involved in a Connecticut auto accident.
If you or a loved one were injured and need an attorney to review your case, contact our office immediately and one of our experienced attorneys will take a look.
