Speed Management Safety

speed odometer picture Speeding—traveling too fast for conditions or in excess of the posted speed limits—is a factor in almost one-third of all fatal crashes and costs America approximately $27.7 billion dollars in economic costs each year. Speeding is a safety concern on all roads, regardless of their speed limits. Much of the public concern about speeding has been focused on high-speed Interstates. The Interstate System, however, actually has the best safety record of all roads and the lowest fatality rate of all road classes. Almost 50 percent of speeding-related fatalities occur on lower speed collector and local roads, which carry only 27.9 percent of the total vehicle miles traveled in the United States. Collector roads usually have legal speed limits of 55 mi/h or less. Speed limits on local roads are often 35 mi/h or lower.

U.S. DOT Speed Management Team

Speeding is a complex issue involving engineering, driving behavior, education, and enforcement. That's why the U.S. DOT has set up a multimodal, multidisciplinary Speed Management Team to attack the problem. The DOT Team has a work plan [HTML, PDF 356 KB] and formal charter [PDF 12 KB], both currently being updated.

Speed Management Education Materials

Almost 1 of every 3 traffic fatalities is related to speeding, and speeding is a safety concern on all roads, regardless of their speed limits. Much of the public concern about speeding has been focused on high-speed Interstates. The Interstate System, however, actually has the best safety record of all roads and the lowest fatality rate of all road classes. Almost 50 percent of speeding-related fatalities occur on lower speed collector and local roads, which carry only 27.9 percent of the total vehicle miles traveled in the United States. Collector roads usually have legal speed limits of 55 mi/h or less. Speed limits on local roads are often 35 mi/h or lower.