Speeding Accident

The Fatal Four of Driving

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on March 19, 2018

There are many things a driver can do to make his trip out on the road more dangerous. But there are four driving behaviors so dangerous that they’re known as the fatal four. It’s important for drivers to know what these behaviors are so they can avoid them and arrive at their destination safely.

Here’s what you need to know. Read the rest »

The Tacoma Train Accident of December 2017

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on February 6, 2018

On December 18, 2017, Amtrak passengers faced disaster in Tacoma.

Amtrak Cascades train 501 was on its inaugural run between Seattle and Portland when, at around 7:45 a.m., the train derailed and left several of the cars dangling from an overpass over I-5. The train held 78 passengers and five crew members. Around one hundred passengers and people in vehicles below were injured as a result of the crash. At least three people onboard died. Read the rest »

A Tricky Weekend for Seattle Drivers

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on August 13, 2014

Speeding motorists and rollover accidents kept King County troopers busy the weekend of Aug. 2. According to KOMO News, there were five rollover accidents in King County and 42 speeding tickets issued that weekend. Officials say one 18-year-old driver was arrested for vehicular assault after rolling his SUV on Northbound I-5 with five young men inside. In another accident, six people were injured when a vehicle traveling at speeds up to 90 mph crashed into the guardrail. Local law enforcement aided victims of three other rollovers and caught 42 drivers within three hours who were speeding along I-90. Read the rest »

Speeding is a Major Source of Serious Washington Car Accidents

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on July 17, 2012

Driver behavior plays a role in many Washington car accidents. Distraction by cell phones, texting, or from other sources is a well-known concern among Washington drivers. More common than distraction, however, is speeding, a behavior that causes thousands of deaths nationwide each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

About one-third of car accidents nationwide involve at least one speeding driver, according to the NHTSA. “Speeding” is defined as traveling at a speed above the posted speed limit or as traveling at a speed too fast for conditions, such as snow, ice, tight curves, or traffic. Read the rest »

Speeding Kills, But Many States Slow to Respond

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on March 14, 2012

Speeding is a major factor in one out of every three serious auto accidents, according to a recent news article in USA Today. Unfortunately, many U.S. states have not responded to the risks posed by speeding in a sufficiently aggressive manner to reduce the number of injuries or auto accidents caused each year.

In 2005, states joined forces to address the rising number of speed-related deaths on U.S. roads. While different states offered different ideas for solving the problem, few have actually taken action since that time. Seven states lowered speed limits on at least some of their roads, and two more states increased the price of fines for speeding. Read the rest »

Federal Study Finds “Driving Too Fast For Conditions” Often Causes Accidents

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on August 15, 2011

When it comes to driving, the term “speeding” can refer equally to two different situations: when the driver is driving faster than the posted speed limit, or when the driver is driving “too fast for conditions,” or too fast to control the vehicle on snow, ice, wet roads, damaged pavement, or in low visibility conditions such as fog or steep hills. Although federal data collection has typically categorized these two different kinds of “speeding” together, a recent study by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found that it’s important to distinguish between them in order to understand how death- or injury-causing accidents occur.

For instance, the study found that, in speeding accidents that cause death, 55 percent were caused by a driver exceeding the posted speed limit, while 45 percent were caused by a driver going too fast for conditions. In injury crashes, however, only 26 percent of the accidents were caused by a driver exceeding the posted speed limit, while 74 percent were caused by a driver going too fast for conditions. Read the rest »