During Illinois Speed Awareness Day this July 26th, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office is taking a proactive approach to promote safety for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists through both education and enforcement.  In Illinois during 2015, speed was the reason for 34.2% of all fatal crashes.  That’s 369 deaths for the year, or one life every 23.7 hours.  These lives can be easily saved by being aware of our speed and understanding how speeding impacts a crash.

In urban areas, speeding can have the following consequences:

•341 lives were loss in 2015 on Illinois roadways from speeding.

•The higher the speed at impact, the more severe the injuries sustained.

•37% of the total injury crashes are speed-related.

•When speeding there is a greater chance that other road users will misjudge how fast you are traveling.

•Speeding extends the distance required to stop a vehicle in emergency situations.

•Speeding reduces a driver’s ability to navigate safely around curves or objects in the roadway.

•A 1% decrease in travel speed reduces injuries by about 2%, a serious crash by 3% & a fatal crash by 4%.

Let’s all do our part by taking a proactive approach to prevent fatalities and reduce injuries on the roadways by being aware of our speed and obeying the speed limit signs ALL the time.

Sheriff Mark Curran said, “Statistics show us speed kills.  It’s more important to arrive alive than speed to get where you’re going!  Please always obey the speed limit and remind your loved ones to do the same.”    

If you would like more information about Illinois Speed Awareness Day, please visit www.illinoisspeedawarenessday.org