‘Speeding wrecks lives,’ NHTSA reminds drivers in new ad campaign

A video featuring dramatizations of drivers exceeding the speed limit before crashing kicks off a new advertising campaign from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

NHTSA is encouraging drivers to slow down and be more careful because “speeding wrecks lives.”

Federal data shows that, in 2020, 11,258 people were killed in speeding-related crashes – a 17% spike from the previous year. Speeding deaths accounted for 29% of all traffic deaths in 2020.

Additionally:

• 87% of speeding-related traffic deaths occurred on non-interstate roads.
• Speeding was a factor in 37% of deadly work zone crashes.
• 37% of drivers involved in deadly speeding-related crashes had a blood-alcohol concentration equal to or higher than the .08 legal limit.

“Much like impaired driving, speeding can steal the lives of everyone using our roads: drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists,” NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff said in a press release. “We cannot accept the status quo. Speed-related deaths aren’t inevitable. They’re preventable, and everyone has a role in addressing this crisis on our nation’s roadways.”

NHTSA has developed a social media toolkit with resources such as fact sheets, graphics and a sample press release.