The Consequences of Speeding: Legal and Safety Perspectives
The United States has certainly worsened in terms of traffic safety statistics, and a significant factor is that speeding is a major national issue. Each year, nearly 10,000 fatalities and hundreds of thousands of injuries are caused by speeding, which is a contributing factor in over one in four fatal accidents in the United States.
Speed is an even more critical factor in the survival or death of thousands of pedestrians who have been involved in car accidents: The probability of a pedestrian being killed in a collision increases from 10% at 23 mph to 75% at 50 mph. Additionally, the per-mile mortality rate increased by 24% last year, the largest increase in a century, due to drivers increasing their speed on roadways year over year.
Read on to learn more about the consequences of speeding, and if you’ve been hurt in a crash caused by a speeding driver, contact an experienced group of New Mexico car accident lawyers who can help you navigate the complex legal process of filing a claim for personal injury.
Car Crashes and Speeding Statistics in Nex Mexico
In one recent year, 470 people lost their lives in car accidents in New Mexico. The prior moving total for the state was 425, so this is a significant increase. A spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Transportation named Jeff Barela stated that speeding, aggressive driving, and distracted driving were the major causes of fatal accidents in New Mexico over the past year. The number of people killed in traffic accidents in the last few years was the greatest it had been in at least a decade.
During this time, the percentage of fatalities on the roads that might be attributed to drunk driving went down. There were fewer than 180 accidents caused by drunk driving in New Mexico this year. Despite this, a recent analysis of insurance data ranked New Mexico drivers as the second worst in the United States due to a disproportionately high number of incidents involving reckless driving and speeding. These findings are supported by statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for New Mexico. According to the NHTSA, New Mexico had the tenth-most DUI arrests and the fifth-most reckless driving crashes or accidents caused by speeding nationwide.
A societal response comparable to the one inspired by drunk driving in the 1980s has not been matched when it comes to speeding. One of the reasons is that Americans have a strong sense of confidence on our roads and prefer driving at higher speeds. Approximately half of motorists surveyed by traffic analysts admit exceeding their state’s posted speed limits by more than 15 miles per hour in the previous month.
Nex Mexico’s Fault Work System For Speeding Drivers
Many state governments now use a “no-fault” system. In these states, each driver must have separate vehicle insurance coverage. In a no-fault state, the policyholder must pay for all expenses for repairs to the property or medical care over the no-fault limitations.
Nonetheless, deaths and serious injuries are often exempt in most areas. If your out-of-pocket medical costs surpass your insurance settlement, you may be able to launch a lawsuit against the guilty party. New Mexico follows a tort-based or comparative negligence system rather than the fault-based approach used by most states. Therefore, the damages you may secure following a car crash are lowered by the proportion of fault you’re assigned after the collision.
If you are hurt in an accident, and someone else is at fault because they were speeding, the other person’s insurance company might be made to pay for your medical bills and other damages. Determining fault in New Mexico is sometimes straightforward, but it can get intricate. You’ll need to prove a few different things:
- The other drivers on the road owe you and every other motorist a duty of care. You must take reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of other motorists and pedestrians on the road whenever you operate a motor vehicle. A motorist’s duty extends to cover all users of the road, whether they’re passengers in another car or not.
- The negligent motorist neglected this responsibility. To violate one’s obligation, a motorist must act in a way that is contrary to or falls short of their commitment. This violation will result in an automatic presumption of guilt for the perpetrator. The other driver’s negligence must also be shown.
- Your injuries are a direct result of your carelessness. Additionally, you’ll have to prove that the other driver’s infraction was the proximate cause of the crash. Consider the likelihood that a motorist engaged in dangerous behavior like texting while behind the wheel. On the other hand, if you are the one to rear-end him while he’s stopped at the light, his offense has nothing to do with the collision.
Imagine you have a history of injuries and then suffer more harm in an accident. Even if their driver caused the collision that injured you, the insurance company may refuse to pay for your medical expenses. You’ll also need to show that your losses and damages were substantial.
Contact a New Mexico Car Accident Lawyer
Most people who are hurt or whose property is damaged in car accidents are not seriously hurt. It may not seem necessary to hire a lawyer in cases when there is minimal property damage and no major injuries.
However, it is always a good idea to engage with an attorney, even in the case of a small injury. An experienced personal injury attorney may examine several elements you may not have considered while negotiating a settlement for your automobile accident claim with you and your loved ones. Remember that talking to a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after an accident is the best approach to protect your rights legally.
Contact Will Ferguson & Associates’ car accident lawyers at (505) 243-5566 to discuss your legal options following a vehicle accident. If we conclude that you and your family are eligible for compensation, we will start working on your case diligently and thoroughly to get the justice you deserve.
