Recently, California Highway Patrol has made a pact to crack down on motorists who drive too fast and ignore speed limits. Accidents where speeding is involved are often much more catastrophic, and leave victims with serious injuries.
Because one or more of the vehicles are driving at high rates of speed, the crashes are more severe due to the sheer impact resulting. Fatality rates are even higher in crashes involving speeding.
Motorists should expect to see an increase in Highway Patrol officers taking extra measures to insure that the incidence of speeding driver is greatly reduced across California's highways. A new grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety is allowing these crack downs to take place, thanks to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Motorists traveling California's highways have probably already noticed the increase in officers patrolling these highways, which will continue
to increase until September of this year. These added efforts are meant to crack down specifically on motorists who are speeding. About 42,000 extra hours of time will allow officers to enforce speeding laws, thanks to the funding provided by the grant.
About one third of all serious accidents that result in death or severe injuries in California can be attributed to excessive speed, according to Joe Farrow, California Highway Patrol Commissioner. 3,434 deaths occurred across the state of California last year due to traffic accidents, 1,141 of these being caused by motorists who were speeding. The grant money will be divided among certain locations where speeding seems to be especially problematic. One area that is always a concern, highway 12 corridor between Stockton and the Bay area, will receive a portion of these funds, which is something California auto accident lawyers are glad to learn. This area experiences a high rate of speeding accidents every year, which often result in serious injuries and fatalities. The remaining funds will be allocated throughout other problem areas in California.
The faster motorists drive, the higher the chances of an accident resulting in serious injuries or fatality - no matter how experienced the driver is. In California, speed limits in certain areas are lowered because of factors in the area, such as schools where children are present and construction zones, where workers are often in close proximity of traffic. Unfortunately, many motorists do not take speed limits seriously and continue to drive too fast. While driving at excessive rates of speed is certainly dangerous, driving even 5 miles over the speed limit can result in a crash, especially in high traffic and congested areas.
