Speeding Kills: Slow Down to Save Lives
Speeding may seem like a way to save time, but it’s one of the deadliest choices a driver can make. Every kilometer or mile per hour over the limit drastically increases the severity of a collision and the likelihood of serious or fatal injuries. Speed reduces your reaction time, increases stopping distance, and puts everyone on the road at risk. Safe driving isn’t just about getting there quickly — it’s about getting there alive.
Speeding isn’t just dangerous — it’s preventable. By choosing to obey speed limits, encouraging others to slow down, and supporting enforcement efforts, we can make our roads safer for everyone.
4 Critical Facts About the Dangers of Speeding
1. A Small Speed Increase Greatly Raises Fatality Risk
A 5% increase in average speed leads to roughly a 25% increase in the risk of death in a collision.
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2. Speeding Contributes to 1 in 4 Fatal Collisions
About 25% of all fatal collisions involve at least one driver exceeding the speed limit.
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3. Driving 10 km/h Over the Limit Raises Collision Risk by 60%
Even modest speeding drastically increases both the likelihood and severity of collisions.
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4. Speeding Endangers Vulnerable Road Users
Pedestrians, cyclists, and children in school zones face the highest risk when drivers exceed speed limits — especially in residential areas.
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Important resources
The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the SAFER initiative in 2018. “SAFER” is an acronym for the 5 most cost effective interventions to reduce alcohol related harm.
A = Advance and enforce drink driving counter measures
Road users who are impaired by alcohol have a significantly higher risk of being involved in a collisions. Enacting and enforcing strong drink-driving laws and low blood alcohol concentration limits via sobriety checkpoints and random breath testing will help to turn the tide.
Read the Drunk Driving: A Road Safety Manual for Decision-Makers and Practitioners, created by the FIA Foundation and the WHO.
This manual provides advice and examples that can reduce the prevalence of drink driving and associated road trauma. The manual is aimed at policy-makers and road safety practitioners and draws on experience from countries that have succeeded in achieving and sustaining reductions in alcohol-related road trauma. It includes recommendations for developing and implementing drink driving legislation and advice on how to monitor and evaluate progress.