Blue lights in the rearview
Published 1:00 am Wednesday, March 27, 2013
You’re justifiably speeding because you’re running late. You’ve got to be somewhere in a hurry. Everything is riding on whether you make it on time.
That is until another car pulls out in front of you and you don’t have time to react because you’re going 70 mph in and 55-mph zone. Now nothing is riding on whether you make it on time, only whether you’ll make it at all.
This week you may see more Highway Patrol troopers out on the roads giving tickets. There’s a reason: the “No Need 2 Speed” campaign brought to the entire state of North Carolina by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. Troopers are cracking down on speeding this week and with good reason: 399 traffic deaths in 2012 can be directly contributed to speeding.
If there are that many deaths caused, how many lesser accidents occur? How many insurance claims have been made? And rates increased because of a heavy foot on the gas pedal?
This week, we’ve all been warned: due to “No Need 2 Speed” there are more troopers out there and a greater likelihood you’ll get pulled over if you speed this week. But if you value your life, and those of others, more than you value shaving a couple of minutes off your travel time, there’s no need to speed ever.