The Johnson County Traffic Safety Partnership is teaming up with other Indiana law enforcement agencies this summer to keep drivers and passengers safe by raising awareness about the dangers of speeding and urging drivers to obey speed limits.
From July 10 to July 31, law enforcement officers in the community will be on high alert for speeding vehicles while participating in the Speeding Slows You Down campaign, funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.
Speeding is not only illegal, but it’s also deadly. In 2021, speeding killed 252 people in Indiana, accounting for more than one-quarter of all crash fatalities. There was also a dramatic 15% increase in speeding-related crash fatalities from 2021-2022, ICJI data shows.
Preliminary data shows that speeding killed 290 people in Indiana in 2022, with nearly 300 fatalities projected in 2023. Local officers are reminding drivers that no matter how seasoned they are as a driver, ultimately, “Speeding Slows You Down.”
Much like impaired driving, speeding can have deadly consequences for drivers, passengers and pedestrians. Speeding reduces a driver’s ability to safely steer around another vehicle, a hazardous object or an unexpected curve. Even the safest cars with the newest technologies are limited in how much they can help reduce the odds of a crash, ICJI warns.
More people crash while speeding on local roads than on highways. In 2022, 77% of all speeding-related traffic crashes on Indiana roads occurred on non-interstate roadways, according to data from ICJI.
