The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran an enlightening article recently about a study that showed speeding deaths were three times more likely on local roads than on highways.
Please read the article, but here are some highlights:
But a new study by the National Transportation Safety Board found speeding-related fatalities were three times higher on local roads than on highways. It blamed high speed limits and an outdated system for determining them as the reason for the over 10,000 deaths a year caused by high-speed accidents. Adopted by the NTSB on July 27, the study followed speed enforcement approaches throughout the country and found that traffic cameras were one of the best ways to prevent speeding.
From 2005 to 2014, the study said, there were over 112,000 fatalities from speeding-related crashes. That accounted for 31 percent of traffic deaths, the same as alcohol-related deaths in the same timespan. Sixty-four percent of people killed were drivers who were speeding, and 20 percent were passengers. Of those injured in speeding-related accidents — over 336,000 people in 2014 alone — 40 percent were occupants of non-speeding vehicles, pedestrians or bicyclists.
As for the traffic cameras, concerns of privacy abound. In Texas, the state legislature prohibited the use of automated speed enforcement, joining 14 other states who have strict laws on the cameras.
