Introduction
While having a personal vehicle is convenient, comfortable, and sometimes necessary, it also bears certain dangers to its owner. Various reasons, including speeding, can cause traffic accidents. Despite most modern countries enacting speed limit laws, their enforcement is not always adequate, and people continue to speed nonetheless (Bauernschuster and Rekers 1). The statistics can provide unsettling demographical, economic, and psychological evidence, hopefully reminding drivers of the speeding danger.
Dangers of Speeding
The rules and laws concerning traffic were designed to address the danger the drivers are exposed to on the road. For some reason, however, their purpose is often forgotten or intentionally ignored. According to Bauernschuster and Rekers, almost 50 million people are injured yearly in road traffic accidents; for 1,3 million, those casualties are fatal (1). In addition, it is the leading cause of death among young people.
Speeding represents a substantial part of the reasons for traffic accidents. Even in the countries with high average income, where the percentage of it is the most minor compared to middle and low-income ones, it presents 30 percent of all fatal incidents (Bauernschuster and Rekers 1). In the meantime, the economic cost of incidents in the U.S. reached approximately 250 billion dollars (Bauernschuster and Rekers 1). Frighteningly, it is almost four times more considering consequent healthcare.
Even though researchers are trying to evaluate the actual numbers behind those traffic accidents, they sometimes face a seemingly illogical issue. Bauernschuster and Rekers decided to gather the sample data for future research before, during, and after Germany’s special speed limit enforcement campaign. As a result, the total amount of traffic accidents was reduced only during the actual day of the campaign (32). Unfortunately, considering the information about the day of its occurrence being accessible publicly, the reason behind the decline might solely lie in the drivers’ fear of increased detection probabilities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, speeding remains a matter of great danger on the road. Demographically, almost four hundred thousand people die each year because of speeding, with it being the leading cause among young people. The overall cost of traffic accidents, including healthcare costs, is four times higher than purely economic. Lastly, people seem to adhere to speed limit rules only when they know they will be inspected more closely, which is the most frightening considering the last two facts.
Work Cited
Bauernschuster, Stefan, and Ramona Rekers. “Speed Limit Enforcement and Road Safety.” CESifo Working Papers, 2019.