Speeding Driver Meets a Watery End

Speeding is one of the causes of tragic car accidents.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), excessive speed is the second most common cause of deadly auto accidents, which accounts for about 30% of fatal accidents.

A man from San Francisco suffered a watery death when he drove his pick-up truck off of Treasure Island and got submerged more than 10 feet under the water.

The police say that the man was traveling at a high rate of speed prior to the crash.

The Fire Department rescue squad in diving gear managed to extricate the man estimated to be 30-40 years old shortly after the crash.

The driver was the sole occupant of the pick-up truck. He died shortly after arriving in the hospital despite the emergency crew’s best efforts to revive him.

They say that haste makes waste and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says that speed influences the risk of car crashes and injuries in three ways:

•    From the time that a driver detects an emergency to the time the driver reacts, the distance a vehicle travels is increased.
•    More distance is needed to stop a vehicle once an emergency is perceived.
•    The crash energy is increased by the square of the speeds. When impact speed increases from 40 to 60 mph (a 50 percent increase), the energy that needs to be managed increases by 125 percent.

Also, when multiple vehicles are involved in an accident, often, the vehicle travelling above the speed provided by law is the one who is deemed liable.

Likewise, when an accident has already occurred, cars that are travelling at a high rate of speed are more likely unable to stop and avoid the pile-up ahead of them.

While it may often seem necessary for some to “step on the gas” in order to get faster to their destination, speeding may also get them faster to their graves.

Speed is a two-edged sword which can cut both ways – it’s often a matter of choosing to drive at a reasonable speed or putting your pedal to the metal and risk an out of control vehicle and a fender-bender.