Speeding Fatalities (and a Focus into a Wall at 120mph!)
Speeding fatalities are occurring at an alarming rate, and the NHTSA stats are pretty sad – still. Think it can’t happen to you? Think again.
Art of Gears prides ourselves on delivering fascinating and fun content about all things automotive, but speeding fatalities are a real thing. Although we like to have fun with our cars, I feel we owe it to you to take a stand on safe driving and encourage our fellow motorists to do the same.
It’s All Fun and Games Until…
If you haven’t already guessed it, the “tone” of this feature will venture into the realm of serious, and the intent is to raise a bit of awareness about some sobering statistics, with the sincere hope that it may prevent a needless loss of life.
Art of Gears wants you to enjoy our content; but more so, we want you to be safe out there on the roads that we all use. Its fun to celebrate all the spectacular things we can do in our cars, but we urge you to do it in a responsible manner. You owe it to yourself, and the people around you, to be responsible when you get behind the wheel – every time!
Accidents Look Better in a Test Environment
Plus, we’re going to get to watch a Ford Focus smash into a concrete wall at 120mph, in a controlled test environment, where nobody gets hurt. I figure that’s a win-win no matter how you look at it. One less Focus to have to look at, and a stark reminder of the insidious physics that exist all around our fragile bodies while traveling at highway speeds, encased in a sheet metal shell.
According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), 35,095 people lost their lives in 32,166 fatal accidents in 2015. 27% of those were killed in an accident involving at least one speeding driver; a speeding fatality.
Speeding Fatalities Affect Everyone
The number of speeding drivers involved in these accidents is down from 32% in 2010, but this number is still outlandishly unacceptable, as those speeding fatalities involve everyone on the road – not just speeders! Drivers in the 15 to 34-year-old range were involved in an overwhelming majority of those accidents involving speeding, with a majority of those being male (which isn’t exactly a secret).
The accident rates steadily decrease as drivers’ age increases, indicating two things: people are slowing down as they get older, and/or they are becoming more experienced (whether they speed, or not). Inexperience, then, is undoubtedly a major contributing factor here.
Don’t Be an Idiot – Seriously
I’m not here to preach, and I’m not saying I adhere to the speed limit to the letter (or number) all of the time (but I’m also not saying that I don’t). The bottom line is, we’re all responsible for more than our own lives when we get behind the wheel.
There’s a big difference between 10mph-over the limit, and 50mph-over! I’m not about to say for one second that we should have our cars limited to lower speeds, that’s just un-American! But if we want to continue to enjoy a decent amount of performance from our factory assembly lines, we need to show legislation that we can use it responsibly.
Military Mad Max Monster Truck is Ridiculous – But Cool!. dark. Next
The Fifth Gear video does a fine job of explaining the mechanics of it all, but if you’ve ever wondered what happens to a car when it hits an immovable object at full speed, it’s better to check it out in a controlled environment (and not firsthand)! Mythbusters also did an interesting test on impact forces that’s worth a gander.