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Why is there a speed limit?
You might have a basic idea. Speed limits exist to keep you from driving too fast and causing a car accident. But have you ever stopped to think how exactly speed relates to auto accident injuries?
Believe it or not, speeding drastically increases your risk of severe injury or death in a crash. And it’s not linear. Traveling 30 mph versus 50 mph is more than a 20 mph difference. It’s the difference between a broken bone and an amputation, a totaled car and a hospital bed.
Let’s talk about how speed changes everything about auto accident injuries.
In this post you will learn:
Why speed increases the severity of auto accident injuries exponentially
The physics behind the forces generated in high-speed car accident injuries
How modern vehicles are designed to handle impacts but have their limits
Statistics that prove the relationship between speeding and severe injuries
What you can actually control to drive safer
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Speed Changes Everything About Car Accident Injuries
When a moving vehicle crashes into another vehicle, the force of that impact is directly related to the speed of those vehicles. It’s not just that collisions at higher speeds are stronger. The energy involved in a crash is proportional to the square of its speed. In other words, if you double your speed, you quadruple the impact force.
Consider the consequences of that fact for a second.
If you’re driving at 30 mph, your car has a certain amount of kinetic energy (moving energy). If you’re going 60 mph, your car has four times as much moving energy. When your vehicle is suddenly stopped by a crash, all of that energy has to go somewhere. And when that energy is transferred into your body, it can cause massive trauma.
Your body simply wasn’t designed to withstand the forces generated by a high-speed car accident. Help from a personal injury law firm, like experienced Pittsburgh injury lawyers, is crucial when it comes to handling the severe and extensive car accident injuries from high-speed crashes.
Statistics show that speeding accounted for 29% of all traffic deaths. That means more than 12,000 deaths and over 300,000 injuries every year are from crashes where at least one driver was speeding. And that’s only from the crashes that get reported.
The Physics of High-Speed Impact
Here’s a fact that you probably didn’t know. The human body can only take so much impact force before it gets injured. The longer your body is subjected to that force, the worse the car accident injuries will be.
So what’s different about a car traveling at 30 mph as opposed to 60 mph? If you are involved in a high-speed collision, your vehicle will crumple, slow down and finally come to a complete stop. Your body, however, will keep moving at the same speed until it hits the brakes. Those brakes could be your seatbelt, airbag, or even the dashboard or windshield.
At higher speeds, your safety devices will have more difficulty preventing major car accident injuries. Your body can only take so much before it becomes overwhelmed by the energy generated by that impact.
The problem gets worse for pedestrians, too. For each 6 mph increase in vehicle speed, the risk of fatal pedestrian injury is about doubled.
Here is how your body responds in a car accident at different speeds:
Low-Speed Collisions (Under 30 mph)
Low-speed car accident injuries are typically minor and include whiplash, bruises and soft tissue damage. While uncomfortable, low-speed collisions rarely cause life-threatening injuries. However, a small increase in speed, by only 15 to 20 mph, can drastically alter the outcome of a collision.
Mid-Speed Collisions (30-50 mph)
The severity of car accident injuries rises exponentially with increased speed in this range. The human body’s natural protective response to impact starts to become overwhelmed with the higher forces. You will start to see broken bones and fractures, internal organ damage, head trauma, spinal injuries, and more significant soft tissue injuries.
These kinds of injuries often require hospitalization and can result in long-term health consequences and recovery that can last for weeks to months.
High-Speed Collisions (Over 50 mph)
Survival in crashes at these speeds becomes uncertain. Injuries from high-speed car accidents are often catastrophic. This can include:
Multiple bone fractures
Severe traumatic brain injuries
Spinal cord damage and paralysis
Extensive internal bleeding
Life-threatening damage to vital organs
Speeding played a factor in 31% of the fatal crashes of drivers and passengers ages 15-20, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
Think about this for a second. New drivers don’t have much driving experience. Combine inexperience with reckless speeding and the outcomes are predictably severe.
Modern Vehicles Can’t Save You from High-Speed Impacts
Automakers have become experts at creating vehicles that are engineered to prevent severe auto accident injuries. Modern cars have crumple zones, airbags, advanced seatbelt systems, and more.
The problem is that these safety features are engineered to protect you up to certain speeds. If you exceed those limits, you begin to see catastrophic car accident injuries.
Crash avoidance technology helps, but they also have limits. Crumple zones are designed to absorb the energy of a collision, but only up to a certain speed. If you are barreling down the highway at 80 or 90 mph, you are pushing all of those systems past their limits.
Modern Safety Technology Has Its Limits
So far in this post, we have been talking about how speed changes everything about the forces involved in a car accident. That is only part of the equation. Reaction time is just as important in an auto accident.
At 30 mph, you travel 44 feet every second. At 60 mph, you’re traveling at 88 feet per second. That’s twice as fast and you have half the time to react to hazards. Your brain takes time to identify hazards, then to process how to react, and finally to execute that reaction. In that reaction time, you may travel 30 feet or more.
At high speeds, those few seconds can be the difference between swerving to avoid a collision and sustaining catastrophic car accident injuries.
Speed Upgrades Can Control
We all know that we can’t control other drivers, but we can control our own speed. Studies show that drivers that obey posted speed limits have better outcomes in crashes. This includes a lower risk of severe injury. It also gives you more time to react and avoid a crash.
Here are some practical tips to drive more safely.
Adjust your speed for road and weather conditions. The posted speed limit is designed for ideal conditions.
Increase following distances at highway speeds to at least 3-4 seconds of space.
Check your speedometer frequently. Most people speed without even realizing they are doing it.
Remember that every mile per hour makes a difference. Saving a few minutes is not worth the risk of severe injury.
Driving Safely at High Speeds
Speeding is a factor in thousands of auto accident injuries each year. It causes accidents, and at high speeds, the human body simply can’t absorb the energy generated in a crash without severe and often life-changing injuries.
Drive slower. Follow the posted speed limits. Pay attention to road and weather conditions and adjust accordingly.
Final Thoughts
Speed kills. Period. There is no way to sugar coat it. Higher speeds result in exponentially more force in a crash.
There is a very real limit to what the human body can withstand. We have physical laws we can’t change.
Modern safety technology in vehicles helps, but it can’t change basic physics. Crash avoidance systems are only good until you are going too fast and that triggers a collision.
The good news is that you can control your speed. In fact, you have complete control over one of the biggest risk factors on the road.
Slow down. Keep it legal. Keep your eyes on the road. And drive like your life depends on it. Because it does.
The post The Impact of Speed on Car Accident Injuries first appeared on Clean Fleet Report.
