**SPEEDING PLANNER**

**ENFORCEMENT VERSION**

**FACT SHEET & TALKING POINTS**

**"Speeding. Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine."**

-   According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
    (NHTSA), during 2005, more than 13,000 lives were lost across
    America in speeding-related traffic crashes. Of those,
    **\[number\]** occurred in **\[State or City/Community Name\]**.

-   NHTSA considers a crash to be speeding-related if the driver was
    charged with a speeding-related offense, or if the responding
    officer indicates the driver was driving too fast for the road
    conditions at the time or was exceeding the posted speed limit.

-   In 2005, speeding was a contributing factor in 30 percent of all
    fatal crashes nationally.

-   Crash data since 1995 shows a continuous increase in the number of
    deaths and injuries attributed to speed. Despite advancements in
    vehicle safety and passenger protection, thousands of Americans die
    each year in speed-related crashes.

-   According to NHTSA, a crash on a road with a speed limit of 65 mph
    or greater is more than twice as likely to result in a fatality than
    a crash on a road with a speed limit of 45 or 50 mph and nearly five
    times as likely as a crash on a road with a speed limit of 40 mph or
    below.

-   Speeding is usually defined as driving in excess of the posted speed
    limit or driving too fast for conditions. It can have dangerous
    consequences including:

    -   Reducing a driver's ability to negotiate curves or maneuver
        around obstacles in the roadway;

    -   Extending the distance traveled before a vehicle can stop;

    -   Increasing the distance a vehicle travels while the driver
        reacts to a hazard;

    -   Increasing the risk of crashes and injuries because other
        vehicles and pedestrians may not be able to judge distance
        correctly.

-   Nationally in 2005, 86 percent of all speeding-related traffic
    fatalities occurred on non-Interstate roadways \-- where the posted
    speed limits were 55 miles per hour or lower. Only 14 percent of the
    nation's speeding-related fatalities occurred on Interstate highways
    that year.

-   In 2005, speeding was involved in more than one-fourth (27%) of the
    fatal crashes that occurred in construction or maintenance zones.

-   In 2005, speeding was a factor in 28 percent of all fatal crashes on
    dry roads, and in 33 percent of those occurring on wet roads.
    **\[Optional:** In wintry conditions, the numbers were even worse
    \-- with speeding a factor in 51 percent of the fatal crashes when
    there was snow or slush on the road, and in 58 percent of the fatal
    crashes that occurred on icy roads.**\]**

-more-

**Young Males and Motorcyclists Most Often in Speeding-Related Crashes**

-   Among drivers involved in fatal crashes, young males are the most
    likely to have been found speeding. In 2005, 38 percent of the males
    age 15-20 involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the
    crash.

-   Drivers of all ages may exceed posted speed limits, but the relative
    proportion of speeding-related crashes to all crashes declines with
    increasing driver age.

-   Speeding motorcyclists are also over represented in crashes. In
    2005, 34 percent of all motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes were
    speeding, compared with 22 percent for passenger car drivers, 18
    percent for light-truck drivers and 7 percent for large-truck
    drivers.

**Speeding and Impaired Driving: A Deadly Combination**

-   Driving impaired and speeding are a deadly combination.

-   Between midnight and 3 a.m., 75 percent of speeding drivers involved
    in fatal crashes had been drinking.

[]{.mark}

-   In 2005, 40 percent of the drivers involved in fatal crashes were
    speeding and had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.
    This compares with only 14 percent of the drivers with a BAC of .00
    involved in fatal crashes.

-   In 2005, 25 percent of speeding drivers under age 21 who were
    involved in fatal crashes had a BAC of .08 or higher. In contrast,
    11 percent of [non-speeding]{.underline} drivers under age 21
    involved in fatal crashes had a BAC of .08 or higher.

-   For drivers between age of 21 and 24 who were speeding and involved
    in fatal crashes in 2005, 50 percent had a BAC of .08 or higher,
    compared with 24 percent of non-speeding drivers.

**The Posted Speed Limit IS THE LAW. Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine.**

-   Many Americans believe they won't be ticketed if they drive within a
    "buffer zone" above the posted speed limit. But now law enforcement
    will be targeting and ticketing speeding drivers. When it comes to
    speeding: *Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine* - the posted speed limit
    IS THE LAW.

-   Law enforcement officials are stepping up enforcement of speed
    violators across **\[region/city\],** and are specifically targeting
    speeders in school zones, residential neighborhoods and on secondary
    roads.

\--more---

-   Our goal is to save lives. When it comes to speeding, no more
    warnings and no more excuses*---Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine.*

-   For more information, visit <http://trafficsafetymarketing.gov/>.

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