Although many of those who have traveled on Interstate 435 probably recognize this from personal experience, many drivers in the Kansas City area seem to have little trouble with speeding.
According to a recent survey, over 80% of drivers admitted to speeding up to 15 miles per hour over the limit. While far fewer, a sizeable minority, 15%, said that they were willing to go up to 30 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. To put this in context, this would mean traveling close to 100 miles per hour on the city’s freeways.
When asked why they chose to speed, most drivers, about 35$, said that they were trying to get to their destination by a given time. Moreover, over 25% of those drivers who were asked said that they only go as fast as everyone else, which is a form of the “everybody else does it” argument.
Some other people frankly admitted that, so long as it was not excessive, they didn’t see speeding as a dangerous driving behavior.
Interestingly, what drivers told the police who pulled them over was slightly different from the survey results. About 1 out of 4 people told the officer that they just did not realize that they were going over the speed limit. Another 14% said that they thought they were going with the flow of traffic, while another 11% said that they did not know what the posted speed limit was since they did not see a sign. In other words, many drivers might simply not be paying attention to their speed or to their surroundings.
To be fair, 18% of those pulled over for speeding explained they were running late for a job, while another 11% said that they were running late for one of their children.
No matter the excuse, though, the reality is that speeding is unsafe. Those who are traveling too fast run a greater risk of causing an accident. Moreover, any auto accident they do cause is more likely to be serious. Victims of speeding drivers can seek to hold those responsible legally accountable for the injuries they cause.
