Most people who knowingly break the law are not eager to admit that they have done so. However, there is an exception to this rule, and it involves people who drive at speeds faster than the posted limits.

Many people consider exceeding the speed limit to be part of normal driving practices even though it is a violation of state law. While speeding is a civil infraction and not a criminal offense in most circumstances, that doesn’t mean that speeding is harmless. Far from it. Individuals who exceed the speed limit could very well cause a serious crash and hurt others because of their decision.

A significant number of crashes result from driving too fast

According to an analysis of crash data by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), roughly 26% of — or just more than one out of four — involves at least one vehicle exceeding the posted speed limit. Speeding claimed the lives of 9,378 people in 2018 alone.

The faster someone travels, the more difficult it becomes to control the vehicle and to respond in a timely manner when traffic conditions ahead are dangerous. Drivers have less time to stop and respond to situations in front of their vehicles when they drive faster than they should. This is especially true when the speeding vehicle is a fully-loaded semitruck.

Observing the speed limit can help keep you safer, but it can’t prevent people who speed from crashing into you. Thankfully, those who get hurt because of other people’s actions, like the decision to exceed the speed limit, can potentially bring legal action against the driver who caused the crash by violating the law.