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The United States has the most motor vehicle fatalities per 100,000 population and per 10,000 registered vehicles compared to 19 other high-income countries (see Figure 1; Sauber-Schatz, Ederer, Dellinger, & Baldwin, 2016). An average of more than 32,000 fatalities and millions of injuries have occurred every year since 1975 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015; Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2016a). Speeding greatly contributes to the frequency and severity of motor vehicle fatalities (World Health Organization, 2016). One-third of fatal crashes involve going above the legal speed limit or driving too fast for roadway conditions. The proportion of speed-related fatal crashes has remained stable at around 30% of total fatal crashes since 2005 (Brown, 2010; D'Elia, Newstead, & Cameron, 2007; Stead, Tagg, MacKintosh, & Eadie, 2005).
Using data from both the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the General Estimates System (GES), the US Department of transportation estimates that approximately 2,338,000 motor vehicle injuries occurred in 2014 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2016a), while Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) using data from the NEISS All Injury Program operated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that over 3.8 million non-fatal, unintentional transportation-related injuries occurred in 2014 (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2017). Both include MV occupants, motorcyclists, pedestrians and bicyclists in their estimates. The US Department of Transportation report shows the injury rate as relatively stable the last few years, WISQARS injury rates are decreasing (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2017; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2016a). However, neither data set is broken down by cause and so it is unknown how many injuries can specifically be attributed to speeding.
Figure 1. Motor vehicle death rate per 100,000 in the US (2016)
Fatal Injuries = 35,398 (11.1/100,000); Non-fatal Injuries: 4,100,000
Estimated Costs of Speeding
Speed-related crashes generate an enormous economic burden. In 2010, crashes where at least one driver was exceeding the legal speed limit or driving too fast for conditions cost $51.9 billion in direct costs and $203 billion in comprehensive costs (Quimby, Maycock, Palmer, & Butress, 1999).
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