Newsletter: Speed Matters

During our next free online training session, DeAnn Crane and Mike Ezzell will share tips and free resources to help your coworkers reduce incidences of speeding and aggressive driving. Both are program managers with the National Safety Council and have years of experience in health and safety environments.

Register to attend now: Why Speed Matters (10-10:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 25).

Ezzell, a certified master trainer who will lead the discussion, elevated driving safety to a personal core value after a former coworker failed to think about driving conditions and lost control of his vehicle. He was killed one day on his way home from work. Mike’s lasting takeaway? Off-the-job safety cannot be overstated

While regulators often are used to govern truck speeds, few outside of the fleet world have adopted similar technology to mitigate risk. For years, speed has remained a contributing factor in about one third of crash fatalities across the U.S., according to research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

There are even times when traveling at the posted limit can be too fast for conditions. For example, driving at excessive speeds can be risky during:

• Inclement weather
• Road repairs
• Nighttime hours or other instances of poor visibility

Last year, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Humanetics produced a report showing the consequences of modest speed increases. Crash outcomes were studied for vehicles traveling at three different speeds. The results were telling:

• At 40 mph, there was little intrusion into the driver’s space in the test crash
• At 50 mph, there was noticeable deformation of the driver-side door opening, dashboard and foot area
• At 56 mph, the vehicle interior was significantly compromised and the crash dummy’s sensors registered severe neck injuries and a likelihood of fractures to the long bones in the lower leg.

In Nebraska, there were 1446 crashes involving unsafe speed in 2020, according to the Office of Highway Safety. Training and education can lead to behavior change. Get new ideas you can use to bolster your safety efforts in our next free online training session: Why Speed Matters