Last Updated: October 25, 2026

Governmental highway safety groups work to reduce speeding through enforcement, public awareness, and road design improvements. Speeding significantly increases crash risk and injury severity. Evidence of speeding can bear on negligence and on how severe the harm was, and those facts can move a settlement offer up or down depending on whose speed it was.

The Governors Highway Safety Association has a report out that tackles the challenging topic of speeding. Unfortunately, many drivers in Illinois, as elsewhere, think of speeding as being culturally acceptable and do not think about the dangers. The Governors Highway Safety Association report Speeding Away from Zero, published January 2019, says speeding-related fatalities have historically been about one-third of U.S. traffic deaths. In 2017 there were 9,717 speeding-related deaths, about 26 percent of the total. In 2016 there were 5,013 speeding-related deaths on rural roadways and 4,660 on urban roadways. The report says that if states consider higher speed limits, stricter enforcement and an infrastructure upgrade should be considered. It also says the most assertive Vision Zero approaches tend to be urban, and it recommends Vision Zero speed-limit principles on rural roads without a median barrier. A January 15, 2019 account said GHSA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety were convening a speeding forum that April.

Speeding is just one form of negligent driving, though; others include distracted driving, drowsy driving and DUI. Those who are injured through another’s negligence may have good grounds for a personal injury case. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, recovery is barred if contributory fault is more than 50 percent of the proximate cause, and damages are diminished if contributory fault is not more than 50 percent of that proximate cause. Still, it may be good idea to hire a lawyer to ensure a fair settlement. If one cannot be negotiated, the case might proceed to litigation.

Need a lawyer? This article discusses wrongful death and personal injury. See the wrongful death and personal injury pages. Call Parker & Parker at 309-673-0069 for a free consultation.

GHSA: efforts to reduce speeding need to be renewed

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