Nearly one in three fatal accidents involve speeding, and while speeding accidents have gradually declined since 2013, total speeding-related fatalities have increased over the same time period.
To better understand speeding trends in the country, researchers at TruckInfo.net analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Here's what they found.
Speeding Fatalities Spiked During COVID-19 and Have Remained High
After remaining flat for the better part of a decade, speeding-related driving fatalities shot up more than 17% from 2019 to 2020.
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Fatalities Are Only Up in Urban Areas
Historically, speeding fatalities have been more prevalent in rural communities than in urban areas. However, this trend flipped in 2016 for the first time. Since 2019, the gap has only widened.
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Nearly Half of Fatal Speeding Accidents Also Involve Alcohol
In 2022, 42% of drivers involved in fatal speeding accidents were also driving under the influence.
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Arizona Has Five of the Most Dangerous Roadways in the Country for Speeding
When looking at speeding-related fatalities by roadway, Arizona is extremely overrepresented, taking up five of the top ten spots. Surprisingly, two of the roadways are in counties with a population of less than half a million.
Arizona, South Carolina, and Wyoming Have the Most Fatalities Per Vehicle-Mile-Traveled
When comparing states by vehicle-miles-traveled, Arizona, South Carolina, and Wyoming have the most speeding-related fatalities.
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Methodology
Speeding accident statistics were sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Population data was sourced from the Census Bureau and Vehicle Miles Traveled data was sourced from the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration.
This story was produced by TruckInfo.net and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.