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Need for Speed Can Kill: National Numbers Indicate Vehicle's Velocity Factor in 33 Percent of Fatalities

Posted on: Tuesday, 27 December 2005, 12:00 CST

By Emily Arthur, American News, Aberdeen, S.D., American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

Dec. 27--Years of national attention focused on drunk driving and increases in seat belt usage have been offset by motorists driving too fast, due in part to increasing speed limits.

That's according to a recent survey released by the Governors Highway Safety Association.

But while national officials point to statistics as proof - nearly one-third of all traffic deaths are speed-related - state and local officials in South Dakota are saying the statistics don't necessarily mean higher speed limits are to blame.

In 1995, the repeal of the National Maximum Speed Limit, which set the maximum speed of 65 mph in rural areas and 55 mph in urban areas, went into effect. Following the repeal, South Dakota increased its speed limit by 10 mph. Earlier this year, certain roadways that used to be 65 mph have been boosted to 70 mph. U.S. Highway 12 east of Aberdeen and U.S. Highway 281 south of Aberdeen are included in that latest change.

Other states have also followed suit. Thirty-one states have increased their speed limits to 70 mph or higher on some portion of their highways.

"If you look at 1994-95 and then compare that to the following year when the speed limits were changed, there hasn't been a major increase in fatalities," said Roy Meyer, director of the Office of Highway Safety in South Dakota. "The last few years, we've had an increase, but we also have more vehicles on the road and the numbers show that we're driving twice as many miles as we used to."

Drivers get cushion: The Governors Highway Safety Association's survey said that, according to state highway safety offices, law enforcement officers tend to give drivers a cushion of an average of 5 to 10 mph over the speed limit - depending on what state they are in - before they will pull them over. In South Dakota, a cushion of 5 mph was reported.

"If you're going a couple of miles per hour over, you may be pulled over or you may not," said Capt. Dave McNeil of the Aberdeen Police Department. "State law says you can be, but realistically you probably won't be stopped."

However, McNeil said that's not necessarily true during this time of year when roads may be icy and driving could be hazardous.

"You don't have to be speeding for law enforcement to pull you over for overdriving road conditions," he said.

Earlier this year, a Highmore man, Samuel J. Reisdorff, 21, was killed in an accident in Aberdeen in which speed was a factor. Reisdorff was a passenger in a vehicle driven by John D. Newling, 26, of Aberdeen. Newling has been charged with manslaughter. Police say he was driving more than 35 miles over the posted speed limit.

Officials will routinely examine the road's speed limit following accidents like that fatality, McNeil said. However, he believes that in the town of Aberdeen, speed limits are where they should be. Rural areas are more susceptible to speed limit changes, he said.

"We talk about raising speed limits fairly often, and we're able to," McNeil said. "As roads improve and we continue to make repairs, they're able to raise speed limits throughout the state."

Below average: Still, South Dakota is below the national average for speed-related fatalities and injuries, according to the GHSA's survey. In 2003 - the most recent year there are numbers for - 15 percent of fatal and injury crashes were reportedly caused by speed.

Meyer said his office has continued to try to play a role in lowering those numbers. They focus on three main issues: drinking and driving, lack of seat belt use and speed. They do so through education and programs like Operation Safe, in which the South Dakota Highway Patrol takes a day and focuses on a stretch of road where problems have routinely taken place. They then "hit the traffic violators really hard."

"Not just for speeding," Meyer said, "but for any traffic violation."

Meyer hopes the effort helps. So does McNeil.

"Any death or injury is one too many," he said.

Reporter Emily Arthur (605) 622-2314 or 1-800-925-4100 ext. 314; earthur@aberdeennews.com

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Copyright (c) 2005, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

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Source: American News (Aberdeen, S.D.)

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