The excitement of the high-speed car chase has been fueling the success of movies like Fast and the Furious, and the Italian Job, and countless other action movies. It calls to the daredevil in a person which craves that adrenaline rush. But in reality, speeding even a bit over the limit can bring about serious injury, even death.
There are about 6 million auto accidents a year in the US alone, and 40% of those are caused by driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). That’s not surprising. What is shocking is that not far behind is speeding, which accounts for 30% of these accidents. When caught DUI, a driver can face jail time and hefty fines, while those caught speeding get a ticket and just pay a fine. If there are no injuries or deaths resulting from speeding, the penalties for speeding are often incredibly light. A ticket can even be forgiven if you take a course in defensive driving in most states.
Fatalities due to speeding and DUI combined in 2011 was in excess of 3,000 in the state of Texas alone. For speeding alone, the death toll was 278, and 6 of them were pedestrians!
There is a reason why speed limits are posted. Speeding above the posted limit is, according to Part 545 of the Texas Transportation Code, “an offense if the person drives a vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.” The key words here are “willful” and “wanton” which suggests negligence. In Texas, traffic accidents have declined somewhat but it is still higher than the national average mostly due to reckless or negligent conduct of the driver.
If you or someone close to you has been harmed by the reckless speeding of a driver, you can consult with a car accident attorney about filing a personal injury claim for damages. This would be on top of the felony charges that would be levied against the driver.