Articles Tagged with speeding

When most of us think of speeding and car accidents, we think about drivers who are traveling at a speed well beyond the posted speed limit and often behaving in other aggressive ways. Yet speeding does not have to mean just driving beyond the posted speed limit. When there is inclement weather or there are poor driving conditions, motorists need to behave reasonably and need to recognize that they owe a duty of care to other drivers and passengers on the road. As such, even if a motorist is traveling at a speed below the posted speed limit, that motorist still may be unlawfully speeding—and thus may be responsible for injuries in an accident—if the speed is too fast to be considered safe for the conditions. 

When Traveling Below the Speed Limit May Still be Speeding

According to California Vehicle Code Section 22350, which is the speeding law in the state, “no person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.”

anja-137284-300x225What are some of the most common causes of fatal teen driving accidents in San Diego? According to a recent report from NBC San Diego, a survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety showed that speeding, a form of aggressive driving, and distracted driving top the list for common causes of deadly, yet preventable, crashes involving teens. It is important for teens who are getting behind the wheel in Southern California to recognize their own limited experience and to take extra precautions to avoid a dangerous or life-threatening car accident, but the impetus should also be on parents to ensure that their teenage drivers understand the serious risks associated with aggressive and distracted driving.

Details of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Report

As the report explains, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently conducted a large-scale study that aimed to determine the common causes of fatal accidents among teenage drivers. What did the survey determine? Over the last five years, “speeding was one of the top mistakes made by teen drivers in fatal crashes across the country.” The report indicated that teenagers have been drivers in around 14,000 deadly collisions during the time period, and of those crashes, about “4,200 involved speeding.” To put that number another way, around 30% of all fatal teen car accidents involved speeding. Yet it is often the other driver or drivers in the crash who suffer the consequences of the teen’s choices.

Contact Information