The Perils of Speeding

A detailed Summary of The Perils of Speeding


"America is becoming a nation of speed freaks," reported U.S. News and World Report in its 1998 story entitled "The American Autobahn." Americans like to speed on their highways; however, most Americans do not fully understand the repercussions of their actions. Speeders endanger the lives of everyone on the road and, unfortunately, no one is immune to its effects.

Many fast drivers question the adverse effects of higher speeds. Yet, studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration consistently prove a single fact: increased speed equals increased fatalities. A NHTSA study in 1972 indicated 4.3 traffic fatalities occurred for hundred miles traveled, or around 54,500 total deaths. Of these deaths, almost one-third were directly related to speeding.


However, government statistics should not be the only factor that deters speeders. Common sense should play a factor as well. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, four different factors affect crashes in relation to speed. The first is reaction time: drivers who speed have less time to spot hazards and react to emergencies. The second is reaction distance: the faster a car is driving the more distance is needed for it to stop in reaction to a hazard or emergency. The third factor is crash severity. The IIHS has found in studies that "crash severity increases by the square of the speed so that, when speed increases from forty to sixty miles-per-hour, speed goes up fifty percent while the energy released in a crash more than doubles." Lastly, speed causes protective devi

Some common words found in the essay are:
Additionally NHTSA, Highway Safety, Safety Administration, Research Council, Autobahn Americans, Speeding America, World Report, fifty-five miles-per-hour, crash severity, increased speed, nhtsa report, 12477 fatalities, speed limit, traffic fatalities,

Approximate Word count = 536
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics

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