NHTSA, Hutchinson Police Department urge drivers to slow down
HUTCHINSON — As part of the speed reduction awareness and high-visibility enforcement campaign, Speeding Slows You Down, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reminds everyone that speeding has life-threatening consequences and to obey speed limits.
From July 7-15, local law enforcement will join this campaign by providing high-visibility patrol and issuing speeding citations to drivers breaking the law.
Communities across America are affected every year by fatalities that occur in speeding-related crashes. In 2023, there were 11,775 traffic fatalities that involved speeding, accounting for 29% of that year’s traffic fatalities. That number of fatalities represented a 3% drop from 2022, in which 12,157 speeding-related fatalities occurred. Young drivers and motorcyclists have a higher chance of being involved in speeding-related crashes. In 2023, 37% of male drivers and 18% of female drivers in the 15- to 20-year-old age group involved in fatal traffic crashes were speeding. Thirty-six percent of all motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes in 2023 were speeding. Motorcycle riders 21 to 24 years old involved in fatal crashes had the highest rate of speeding involvement at 51%.
“Speed limits are set to keep all road users safe,” reminds Traffic Officer J. Gilmore. “They minimize the likelihood of crashes and the force of a crash’s impact on a person’s body, which dramatically increases with each additional 10 miles per hour of speed. When a driver or motorcyclist drives above the speed limit, they are acting with no regard for their life, the lives of others on the road, and the law. That remains true regardless of the reason a person chooses to drive over the speed limit,” he said.
Speeding is an aggressive and deadly behavior. It reduces a driver’s ability to steer safely around another vehicle, a hazardous object, or an unexpected curve.
According to NHTSA, local roads are more dangerous than highways for speeders. It's a common misconception that speeding is an interstate-related issue: In fact, in 2023, 88% of all speeding-related traffic fatalities in the United States occurred on routes other than interstates.
Drivers in Hutchinson should be especially aware of this campaign and their speed.
“Local roads are where most of our speeding-related crashes occur,” said Gilmore. “We will be concentrating our efforts in the entire city, he said.
“We are calling on everyone to show regard for all road users’ lives and safety, including their own, by following the speed limits everywhere and all the time,” said Traffic Ofc. Gilmore. “Posted speed limits are the law. When everyone abides by them, they are fulfilling their responsibility of helping prevent life-altering injuries and fatalities. We’re putting all drivers on alert — follow the law.”
For more information, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/speeding.
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