I'm speeding?

Yes, you are IF:

• you drive above the maximum speed limit or
• you drive too fast for the weather, road and/or traffic conditions, even if the posted speed limit is not exceeded.

Speeding is one of the most common reported factors associated with crashes. And yet, few drivers view speeding as an immediate risk to their personal safety.

The road is not a roller coaster

Speeding reduces your ability to steer safely around curves on highways or objects on the roadway. A vehicle travelling around a curve or around an object is subject to centrifugal force. Every curve has a critical curve speed and should be taken at the recommended speed, or below depending on the conditions. If you travel faster than the curve is designed for, the centrifugal force will exceed the force holding your vehicle to the road, and your vehicle will start to slide out of the curve sideways, which could lead to a rollover.

Centrifugal force is the feeling you get when you round a corner in your car — you seem to be pushed to the outside of the curve. It's just like the feeling you get when you're on a roller coaster - and the reason that roller coasters must be safely locked onto their tracks.

All Conditions Apply

Speeding includes driving too fast for the conditions. This means that you can be travelling too fast even if you are not exceeding the speed limit.

Factors to consider:

• Weather — rain, snow, wind — affects your field of vision and the condition of the road causing you to need more time and distance to stop.
• Road surface — pavement, gravel, ice — will change the time and distance needed to stop.
• Location — school zone, playground, rush-hour — driving in these areas needs to be reasonable and prudent.
• Driver — mood, fatigue, physical illness, distractions — affect how a driver perceives and reacts.

Take Action, Now — Slow Down!

• Know the limit, do the limit.
• Continually monitor your speed.
• Use your cruise control on the highway.
• Adjust your speed for the weather, road and/or traffic conditions.
• Set a good example.
• Be nice to your pocket book — save on gas, tickets, your license and your insurance!
• Leave earlier, get there safer.