Introduction
Speeding is a factor in approximately 29% of all traffic fatalities, killing over 11,000 people annually in the United States. When a driver exceeds the speed limit or drives too fast for conditions, they dramatically increase both the likelihood and severity of accidents. If you've been injured by a speeding driver, their excess speed creates clear negligence and may support enhanced damages.
This comprehensive guide covers how speeding affects liability, proving the other driver's speed, the relationship between speed and injury severity, and maximizing compensation in speeding-related accidents.
Speeding is negligence that creates liability and worsens injuries. We'll help you prove the other driver was speeding and recover full compensation.
How Speeding Creates Liability
Exceeding the posted speed limit is negligence per se in most jurisdictions. The speed limit is a safety standard, and violating it establishes negligence automatically when that violation causes injury.
Even driving at the speed limit can be negligent if conditions require slower speeds. Driving too fast for conditions such as weather, traffic, road surface, or visibility creates liability even without exceeding the posted limit.
Speeding affects accident causation in multiple ways: it reduces the driver's ability to react to hazards, extends stopping distance, increases the severity of impacts, and reduces vehicle stability during emergency maneuvers.
If the speeding driver received a citation, that ticket is evidence of negligence in your injury claim. However, you can prove speeding even without a citation using other evidence.
Proving Speed
Event data recorders (EDRs or "black boxes") in modern vehicles record speed data that can be retrieved after an accident. Your attorney can preserve and analyze this data to prove the other driver's speed.
Accident reconstruction experts calculate speed from physical evidence including skid marks, crush damage, and final rest positions. The laws of physics allow experts to determine impact speed from the damage sustained.
Witness testimony about the other driver's speed, observations of aggressive driving, or statements that "they came out of nowhere" support speeding claims. Witnesses may have observed the vehicle before the crash.
Surveillance footage from traffic cameras, businesses, or dash cameras may capture the speeding vehicle and allow speed calculations based on distance traveled over time.
The police report may include the officer's estimate of speed based on scene evidence, witness statements, or the officer's own observations if they witnessed the approach.
Speed and Injury Severity
Higher speeds dramatically increase injury severity. The kinetic energy in a collision increases with the square of speed, meaning a vehicle traveling at 60 mph has four times the impact energy of one traveling at 30 mph.
Survival rates in crashes decrease rapidly as speeds increase. Pedestrians struck at 40 mph have only a 15% chance of survival, compared to 90% at 20 mph. Similar relationships apply to vehicle occupants.
The at-fault driver's excess speed directly worsened your injuries. Had they been traveling at appropriate speeds, the collision would have been less severe or avoided entirely. This is relevant to your damages claim.
If you would have survived a crash at normal speeds but suffered catastrophic injuries because of the other driver's speeding, their speed is directly responsible for the severity of your harm.
Enhanced Damages
Extreme speeding may support punitive damages if the driver's conduct showed reckless disregard for others' safety. Traveling 30+ mph over the limit in a residential area or school zone demonstrates egregious negligence.
Racing on public roads almost certainly supports punitive damages due to the knowing and intentional nature of the dangerous conduct.
Prior speeding violations may be relevant to show the driver knew their conduct was dangerous but continued anyway. A pattern of speeding tickets demonstrates disregard for safety laws.
Insurance companies recognize that excessive speed creates jury sympathy for victims and are often willing to settle these cases for higher amounts to avoid trial.
Building Your Case
Send a preservation letter immediately to prevent destruction of EDR data. This data may be overwritten if the vehicle is repaired or moved. Your attorney should send this letter within days of the accident.
Photograph skid marks, debris fields, and final rest positions at the scene. These provide evidence for accident reconstruction experts to calculate speed.
Identify all witnesses who may have observed the speeding vehicle before the crash. Ask specifically about speed and any aggressive driving behaviors.
Obtain the police report and check for speed estimates, citations, or witness statements about the other driver's speed.
Document your injuries thoroughly, as the severity of harm directly relates to the other driver's excessive speed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion and Next Steps
Speeding creates clear liability and directly increases injury severity. Proving the other driver's speed strengthens your claim and may support enhanced damages.
The most important steps you can take right now are: preserve vehicle EDR data before it's lost, photograph scene evidence including skid marks, get witness contact information, obtain the police report, and document your injuries and medical treatment.
If you've been injured by a speeding driver, contact a qualified car accident attorney for a free case evaluation. An experienced attorney can preserve and analyze speed evidence, prove the other driver's excessive speed, and pursue full compensation including potential punitive damages.