Speeding Gains (and Losses)

How often have we experienced the joy of being passed by some jerk doing 50 MPH in a 35 MPH zone just to catch up with them at the next light? In my case, it is a daily phenomena.

I often wonder what the big attraction is to speeding. Of course, I admit going fast can be fun. By nature I like going fast, I enjoy the thrill of speed, of quick maneuvers, and the rush of taking a curve as fast as I possibly can. But those things are not meant for the often-congested streets and roads we drive on.

So let's approach this from a logical, scientific view. How much time does a driver save by driving faster? The short answer: not much, definitely not enough to justify the risks and penalties.

Here is an example using my daily commute to work which is about 35 miles each way. About two-thirds of my driving is on interstates with a speed limit of 60 MPH, the rest on streets/roads with an average speed of 40 MPH. That means I drive 23 highway miles and 12 street miles.

Looking just at the highway miles, it normally takes me 23 minutes to drive that portion of the trip at 60 MPH; at 65 MPH it would potentially save me two minutes, and at 70 MPH it would save me a total of four minutes. That would be true in ideal conditions (little or not traffic, no roadwork, etc.). I suspect the actual time savings would be slightly lower. For the sake of argument, let's say I save two minutes on the highway portion of my commute.

For the street portion of my commute, it normally takes 18 minutes at 40 MPH, and it would take 16 minutes at 45 MPH and 14.4 at 50 MPH, not considering traffic, stop lights, etc. So let us assume I save another two minutes by speeding on this part of the trip.

Normally, my drive to work takes me 40-45 minutes by obeying the speed limit. If I chose to speed 5-10 MPH I could save as much as eight minutes, but more likely it would be closer to five minutes.

Is it worth it?

Disadvantages of Speeding

• Increased Stress: even when having fun, speeding increases our stress levels because we have to manage so much more information at a much faster pace. Stress damages our health.
• Increased Wear and Tear on Vehicle: faster acceleration and harder braking will take a toll on the vehicle, not to mention a significant loss in fuel efficiency.
• Speeding Tickets: from time to time speeders get caught, and the penalties can be substantial, not only in the ticket itself, but also in increased insurance premiums.
• Increased Accident Probability: excess speed contributes to significant number of accidents, and fatalities are much higher in accidents in which speeding was a factor.

Here is a quick chart I created to visualize how much time one would save in varying distances and speeds: