GHSA News Release: State Highway Safety Officials Urge More Attention to "Speed Demons"

GHSA News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2004

Contact: Jonathan Adkins
(202)789-0942

State Highway Safety Officials Urge More Attention to "Speed Demons"

Speeds and Deaths are Increasing on Our Nation's Roadways

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) today called on the nation to focus more attention on the growing problem of excessive speeding by drivers. GHSA represents federally funded State Highway Safety Offices nationwide. Kathryn Swanson, Chair of GHSA, says the organization is concerned that speed has become the neglected "stepchild" of highway safety. She says, "Speeding is not getting the attention it deserves on the national level despite the critical role it plays in traffic deaths, one of the nation's most serious health problems."

Swanson says, "National seat belt use is at an all-time high and yet we are still seeing an increase in traffic fatalities nationally and in a number of states. We believe this is largely because drivers are speeding and generally not obeying traffic laws. We are fortunate because the seat belt use gains have prevented an even greater increase in deaths and injuries but increased speeding has limited the gains we should be making with more people wearing seat belts." Swanson says that more and more traffic crashes are simply not survivable, belted or unbelted-given the high speeds involved.

State Highway Safety Offices from across the country are experiencing increased problems with speeders. For example, the Maine office funded a project with the State Police to conduct speed details on the state's interstate system in areas where speed-related crashes are a problem. Despite the 65 mile per hour (mph) speed limit, the average speed clocked was 85 mph. Of the 2000 speeding tickets given out to offenders, 351 were for speeds of 95 mph and higher. In Oregon, speed is the number one contributing factor to fatal traffic crashes. Yet, as in many other states, the number of State Police in Oregon has been significantly reduced. With fewer officers patrolling the roadways, there is a perception of reduced risk of being ticketed for speeding by the public.

Swanson says that recent research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) affirms GHSA's concerns about speeding. The IIHS report issued late last year said that higher travel speeds on both rural and interstates are responsible for approximately a 35 percent increase in death rates. IIHS has been surveying travel speeds on interstate highways since 1987 and the most recent survey noted the fastest speeds ever observed by the Institute.

Swanson calls speeding the neglected "stepchild" of highway safety because it rarely attracts the attention and funding of more prominent issues such as child passenger safety and impaired driving. According to Swanson, "There's a perception by drivers that everyone speeds and it is an accepted necessity of our hectic lifestyles. Demands on our time continue to increase, everyone seems to be in a rush and that behavior transfers to driving."

Swanson cites several reasons for the increase in speeding. A primary reason is that since Congress repealed the national speed limit in 1995, much of the public has perceived speed limits as merely guidelines and not the law. Another is that drivers do not believe speed to be as dangerous a driving behavior as other unsafe driving behaviors such as failure to buckle up or drinking and driving. Swanson adds that the social stigma of speeding does not come close to rivaling these other behaviors and is considered "cool" in many circles, particularly among young males, the demographic most frequently involved in traffic crashes.

Another factor for the increase may be that it is not currently a priority issue for the federal government. Swanson says, "Federal agencies have done a good job of providing leadership in the areas of 'belts and booze,' but by focusing almost sole attention on these two issues, funding and media attention for other behavioral highway safety issues has suffered."

Fred Zwonechek, a GHSA Officer and Administrator of Nebraska's Highway Safety Office concurs, saying even without the federal emphasis, speed enforcement is a significant part of his state's program efforts. "In Nebraska, speed has been identified as one of our four priority emphasis areas because our data indicates that exceeding the speed limit and driving at a speed too fast for conditions continue to be over represented in fatal and serious injury crashes. We have successfully demonstrated that we can reduce the speed-related crash problem with proven strategies and partnerships."

The federal government's nearly complete focus on seat belts and impaired driving has translated into fewer resources being available for other highway safety priorities such as speed. However, an informal GHSA survey shows even with this limitation, states are actively trying to reduce the speeding problem. A sampling of state activity follows. Additional state summaries are available on the GHSA website.

California - Speed is a recurring theme among primary collision factors in California. The state and particularly the California Highway Patrol remains committed to efforts at curbing speed related collisions and continues to be proactive in a variety of forums, including rigorous enforcement programs, an increasing technological advantage, and various education and public awareness campaigns. California State Patrol recently put into service a fleet of white Camaro patrol cars (The Ghost Riders) that have been successful in enforcing speed limits for trucks. Several areas of the state also implemented highly publicized "Zero Tolerance" enforcement days to call attention to compliance with speed laws.
Connecticut - The Department of Public Safety's Division of State Police utilize nontraditional enforcement vehicles to monitor traffic and take enforcement action, when needed. State Police aggressive driving countermeasure teams utilize unmarked Cameros, Intrepids and Impalas. They travel with the traffic flow while observing driving behavior of motorists. Most of the speeding and reckless driving arrests are made after the accused passed the arresting trooper.
Georgia - A special emphasis has been placed on aggressive driving and speed violations throughout the year by the Governor's Office of Highway Safety Metro-Atlanta H.E.A.T (Highway Enforcement Aggressive Traffic) task force. This task force targets violators who fail to comply with Georgia's Motor Vehicle Traffic Laws. These targeted efforts continue to make a profound impact on the highly traveled interstate system of Metro-Atlanta. The ultimate goal of action is to reduce fatalities by slowing motorists down to the appropriate speeds on Georgia highways and roadways.
Louisiana - The state has completed a study and is in the process of implementing recommendations to prevent serious and fatal collisions on elevated sections of interstate roadways. A speed advisory and billboard messaging system has been installed and will be coordinated by the Louisiana State Police and Department of Transportation and Development. The Governor announced a pilot program to require large trucks to travel at reduced speeds in the right lane of travel on all elevated sections of interstate roadway.
Missouri - The state developed a database that allows for identification of speed-related crash corridors. Multi-jurisdictional and special emphasis enforcement projects are being conducted on targeted portions of roadways within these corridor areas. In Kansas City, officers have partnered with adjoining agencies on selected portions of Interstates 70 and 470 for speed enforcement. In St. Louis County, a highway safety team measures its success on reducing speeds and crashes in special emphasis areas through the assistance of the state engineer in that area.
New Jersey - Active and ongoing Speed/Aggressive Driving Enforcement Task Forces operate in several locations including Bergen, Passaic and Morris Counties as well as along other high-volume road corridors in the state. The state also maintains an ongoing program in which motorists can dial #77 on their cellular phones to report Aggressive Driving and Excessive Speed to state and local police. The #77 line received an average of 20,000 calls per month during the second half of 2003.
Ohio - The Ohio Departments of Public Safety and Transportation developed a six-month pilot project to reduce non-rush hour speeding in metropolitan corridors. This multi-jurisdictional enforcement project is being conducted on targeted portions of controlled access roadways within the Columbus area, where average speeds reach 78 mph. The enforcement efforts are being publicized in the media. Additionally, Ohio's Governor's Highway Safety Office partners with law enforcement agencies statewide to combat speeding drivers. Funds are provided for overtime enforcement in local problem areas identified by the agencies as high-speed corridors.
Pennsylvania - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the State Police are partnering to conduct two special enforcement programs that address speeding and aggressive driving behaviors. They are Centipede and TAG-D (Target the Aggressive Driver). The Centipede program uses at least two and frequently three or four radar sets in tandem at locations one or two miles apart. The units are used in marked and unmarked vehicles. Running radar in tandem increases driver awareness of enforcement activities, and increases driver perception that speeding may result in a ticket. The second enforcement program, TAG-D, is designed to apprehend those individuals who commit intentional traffic violations such as speeding, following too closely, disobedience to traffic control devices, failure to use turn signals, and so forth. Both enforcement initiatives are intended to reinforce safe driving practices of all drivers.
Washington - Washington State, and particularly the Washington State Patrol, has made speed enforcement a priority, as excessive speed is widely recognized as an indicator of aggressive driving. The WSP Aggressive Driving Apprehension Team (ADAT) was formed to curb speeding and other aggressive driving behaviors. The ADAT team uses unmarked vehicles (including one "ADAT TAXI") to locate offenders. Marked units are then called in to make the stop. Washington State is very concerned about speeding in school zones. To support efforts to make school zones safer, Washington enacted a law doubling the fine for speeding in a school zone. Fines are used to improve school zone and school bus safety.

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The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA)® is a nonprofit association representing the highway safety offices of states, territories, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. GHSA provides leadership and representation for the states and territories to improve traffic safety, influence national policy and enhance program management. Its members are appointed by their Governors to administer federal and state highway safety funds and implement state highway safety plans. Contact GHSA at 202-789-0942 or visit www.ghsa.org.