Story at a glance
- Enforcing and abiding by speed limits is the most effective solution to prevent serious injury during auto accidents at high speeds, experts say.
- Studies show that even cars with top safety ratings cannot offer complete protection to passengers.
A new report highlights trends occurring on America’s roadways. Research conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that less people on the roads commuting to work does not equate to safer conditions.
The study comes as reports of speeding on less-populated highways have jumped over the course of the pandemic, which has rendered large populations at home and not commuting.
Reflecting this phenomenon is data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which documents consistent increases in fatality rates per 100 million vehicle miles traveled during 2020.
To demonstrate the deadly impact high car speeds can have when involved in an accident, AAA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) set up crash tests to see if relatively small jumps in speed, such as an increase of 10 miles per hour, would result in an increased risk of injury.
Measuring the rate of injury to drivers at a baseline speed of 40 miles per hour, researchers saw a 15 percent risk of serious injury. This risk only increased with speed; a crash impact speed of 50 miles per hour recorded a 59 percent risk of injury, and at about 56 miles per hour, researchers noted a 78 percent increase of serious injury risks.
Car type does little to mitigate the blow of an accident at a higher speed. In the tests, three 2010 Honda CR-V EX models were used, a model that routinely ranks high for car safety features and design.
“Higher speed limits cancel out the benefits of vehicle safety improvements like airbags and improved structural designs,” said David Harkey, the IIHS president. “The faster a driver is going before a crash, the less likely it is that they’ll be able to get down to a survivable speed even if they have a chance to brake before impact.”
Ultimately, industry experts say that enforcing speed limits is the single most effective solution to reducing fatal highway accidents.
Crash test dummies used to gauge human injury in the study were covered in sensory equipment to register damage to the proxy driver.
At 40 miles per hour, an impact or collision did not penetrate the driver’s seat area. But with gradual increases in speed, deformation of the driver’s side door and severe neck injuries and bone fractures were registered.
“Cars are safer than they’ve ever been, but nobody’s figured out how to make them defy the laws of physics,” Harkey continued. “Rather than raising speed limits, states should vigorously enforce the limits they have. This includes using proven countermeasures like high-visibility enforcement and carefully implemented speed-camera programs to consistently and equitably enforce speed limits 24/7.”
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