A new federal study shows that speeding was involved in 30 percent of all Louisiana motor vehicle fatalities in 2023, pushing Louisiana slightly above the national average.
The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission is highlighting the report to remind drivers that driving faster than the posted speed limit is never a smart move.
“We have a message for speeding drivers: Chill out, and slow down!” LHSC Executive Director Lisa Freeman said.
The study, conducted by the National Highway Traffi c Safety Administration, says 240 people in Louisiana died in crashes involving speeding in 2023. While speeding is often associated with interstates, the study says nearly 83 percent of those Louisiana speeding fatalities were on non-interstate roads.
Nationally, 11,775 people died in speeding-related crashes in 2023, representing about 29 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities in the country.
Freeman added that young male drivers in the 15-to-20 age group are more likely than other drivers to be speeding at the time of fatal crashes.
According to the NHTSA study, 37 percent of the fatal crashes involving young males of that age group also involved speeding.
According to NHTSA, 36 percent of all motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes in 2023 were speeding, compared to 22 percent of all passenger car drivers. Motorcycle riders 21 to 24 years old in fatal crashes had the highest speeding involvement at 54 percent in 2023.
Besides being illegal, speeding is dangerous because it makes every other aspect of driving a motor vehicle or motorcycle more difficult, Freeman said.
“A speeding driver has less time to react to road or traffic conditions,” Freeman said. “Those few seconds, or even split-seconds, can make a real difference.”
According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, speeding also:
• Increases the distance needed to stop the vehicle in an emergency.
• Increases the risk that evasive steering will cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
• Causes crashes to be worse because of the disproportionate stress on the vehicles, increasing the chances of severe injury or death.
Freeman also noted that state and national statistics consistently show that speeding drivers who are killed in crashes often are not wearing seat belts.
“It is a deadly combination,” Freeman said. “Just taking a few extra seconds to buckle up and driving the speed limit can make a world of difference.”
Likewise, since drivers and passengers can only control what goes on inside their vehicles, remembering to always buckle up is one of the best defensive measures for surviving a crash with someone who may be speeding.
For more information, visit www.nhtsa.gov/riskydriving/ speeding.
