By Zane T. Cagle | September 23, 2016 | Car Accidents, Featured, Personal Injury
Federal highway officials and law enforcement agencies across a six-state region announced a zero-tolerance enforcement blitz aimed at stopping speeding.
The Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine campaign kicks off today and will continue through the weekend in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa and Oklahoma. These officers will be ticketing anyone speeding. “Clearly, speeding is deadly”, said Susan DeCourcy, regional director for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The goal of the initiative is to persuade drivers to slow down and draw attention to speed-related fatal crashes. In 2015, 2964 people lost their lives in traffic crashes in the six-state region and about 27 percent of those crashes were speed related. In Kansas, there were 128 speed-related fatalities and in Missouri, there were 310 speed-related fatalities. Highway officials attribute the higher percentage of speed–related crashes in both states to inconsistencies in reporting fatal crashes and higher speed limits.
During this campaign, about 220 law enforcement agencies will patrol more than 5,700 miles of roadway looking for drivers who are speeding or showing other forms of distracted or reckless driving.
Officers will not only be looking for passenger vehicle speeders, but also for commercial vehicle operators who are speeding. According to T.F. Scott Darling III, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, “Our goal is to drive the number of fatalities at as close to zero as possible.”
Speed limits are set for ideal weather and road conditions. However, many factors can come into play on whether or not you should travel the “speed limit’. It is not a “suggestion” of speed, rather it is the maximum speed you can legal drive safely under ideal conditions. Excessive speed not only causes the driver to be at risk, but also other motorists on the roadway. Often, drivers speed because they are in a hurry. We’re all in a hurry.
However, rushing to your destination through speeding on the roadway may greatly increase your likelihood of not arriving to your destination safely. It’s not just easy for me to say this as I spend countless hours on the roadways every week and sometimes, I’m attempted to speed especially on open highways. However, if you are in a crash and you have been speeding, those are far more serious consequences than you had ever planned upon.
If you’ve been involved in a motor vehicle crash where someone else was speeding or caused by other negligent driving behavior, you will need an experienced car crash attorney. The attorneys at our firm know how injuries from a crash can literally turn your life up-side down
The Cagle Law Firm serves accident and injury clients throughout St. Louis and the greater St. Louis metropolitan area, including the eastern Missouri and southern Illinois communities. If you or a loved one needs legal assistance with your personal injury case, call The Cagle Law Firm at (314) 276-1681 or use our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.
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