It’s no surprise that traffic across the country has decreased tremendously. The effects of coronavirus have cleared the roads. More people are working from home which cuts out morning and afternoon rush hour. Because of this, we are seeing drivers traveling at dangerously high speed. These new speeds are reaching 100 mph and more in all major cities. In Sandy Springs, Georgia, police noticed a motorcyclist driving past 172 mph. The police officer wasn’t even able to catch up to the motorist because of how fast they were going. Atlanta hasn’t seen roads this clear in years! Traffic has gone down 45% since early March when the first state shutdown began. This is becoming ultimately dangerous for vehicles on the road because of the reckless drivers speeding through the lanes at high speeds. The fear now is that more high-speed accidents will spike speed related deaths. The Georgia State Patrol says, “That while it's writing far fewer traffic tickets than normal, tickets for speeding at 100 mph or more are up nearly two-thirds statewide from a year ago”. It has also been stated that Georgia State Patrol has issues over 600 speeding tickets in just one weekend. It’s now more than ever important to follow safety protocols to decrease speeding and ultimately limit high speed accidents.
How Can You Prevent High-Speed Accidents?
- Plan your route ahead of time and leave with time to spare so you don’t feel rushed.
- Keep your top speed under or right at the speed limit. Make sure to keep a close eye on your speedometer.
- Use a speeding app to keep you in check. If you use the Waze app on your cellphone, it will alert you when you are going over the speed limit.