Speeding Contributed To 29% Of Fatal Accidents in 2022: NHTSA

Data comes as part of a nationwide awareness campaign launched to promote safer speeds, and help reduce the risk of auto accidents and traffic fatalities, which spiked after the pandemic.

Federal traffic safety officials have launched a new campaign this month, which is designed to encourage drivers to slow down, indicating that at least 12,151 people lost their lives in accidents where speeding was a contributing factor in 2022, and more than 300,000 others were injured.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced its Speeding Catches Up with You campaign on July 8, which will run through July 31, featuring a $9.5 million national media buy with English- and Spanish-language ads on TV, radio, and digital platforms.

The campaign seeks to remind drivers about the deadly consequences that speeding can have, highlighting how speeding happens on all roads, not just highways.

In 2022, data released by the agency shows that speeding was a contributing factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities, and 87% of those fatal speeding accidents occurred on non-interstate roads.

“Speeding accounts for nearly a third of all fatalities on our roads. While speeding may seem like the quick and easy option to make up some time when you’re running late, it puts you, your loved ones, and everyone else on the road in danger,” Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman said in the NHTSA press release. “This summer, and all year round, NHTSA urges drivers to slow down so everyone can arrive safely at their destination.”

Promoting safer speeds is a major objective within the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS). Earlier this year, the Department issued its 2024 Progress Report, marking two years since the original NRSS was unveiled on January 27, 2022. Central to the NRSS is the Department-wide adoption of the safe system approach.

This progress report outlines the Department’s initiatives to mitigate serious and fatal injuries on roadways, including those caused by speeding, and showcases the Department’s achievements in 2023 related to the NRSS actions. Key actions from 2023 include:

• Allocating $1.7 billion to improve safety through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, benefiting over 1,000 communities.
• Advancing rulemakings for automatic emergency braking systems in all new passenger and heavy vehicles.
• Initiating rulemaking for impaired-driving prevention technology standards.
• Updating key safety regulations and guidance for states to enhance road user safety through federal-aid projects.
• Expanding the National Emergency Medical Services Information System to include data from all states, two territories, and D.C.
• Enlisting over 160 organizations, including 36 state transportation agencies, as Allies in Action of the NRSS.