Speeding is a primary cause of traffic deaths in DC

The Governors Highway Safety Association put out a report on Speeding and traffic safety entitled "Rethinking a Forgotten Traffic Safety Challenge". It's unclear who forgot that speeding was a traffic safety issue or how they remembered but the report does highlight one important fact that I think we all knew - speeding is one of the major causes of traffic death in DC.  Speed-related crashes made up 55 percent of all motor-vehicle deaths in 2017. In Maryland and Virginia it was 29 and 26 percent respectively.

The media made much of the comparison aspect that labelled DC "2nd" in the nation for speed related deaths, but the comparison is largely meaningless. If DC got down to just one traffic death, but it was speed-related, we'd catapult to #1 on the list with 100%. Likewise we could increase all non-speed related crashes and move down the list while getting more dangerous. The states with the lowest rates of speeding deaths are Mississippi and Florida, both of which are among the least safe on a deaths/VMT measure. Whereas DC is 6th safest (As always, comparing DC to states has flaws). 

The report also notes that the states don't have a uniform method for reporting crash causes "In GHSA’s survey of the states, respondents reported several inconsistencies across the country regarding ability to report speeding as a causative factor in a fatal crash." DC may report more speed-related crashes because we have so many more cameras per mile of road that our investigators can watch most crashes happen or about to happen and know that the driver was speeding. (And DC gets a lot safer on a Person-Mile-Travelled basis because so many people take transit, walk or bike). There are many possible reasons for the different reported numbers and it shouldn't be taken that DC is somehow uniquely dangerous.

But....It is useful to know that speeding plays a part in a majority of fatalities. If we're trying to reduce traffic deaths as part of Vision Zero it helps to know what is causing them. One reason our speeding deaths are so high is likely that drunk driving is very high. 70% of drivers that die in DC are above the legal limit, and when people drink and drive, they're more likely to speed.  DC is an outlier as 70% is much higher than the rest of the country (North Dakota is 2nd at 49%), though again, there are reporting differences. 

It should be no surprise that getting people to drive sober and getting them to slow down will go a long way to achieving Vision Zero. So will getting them to not drive at all.

Here's the other thing that the report says relevant to biking

Speeding-Related Crashes Involving Vulnerable Road Users
Differential speeds in mixed traffic is a factor in the recent increase in pedestrian and bicycling crashes and fatalities (NCSA, 2018b). In fact, pedestrian fatalities are at highest levels recorded in more than two decades. Vehicle speeding seriously impacts pedestrian and bicyclist safety not only by increasing the chances of a crash, but also by increasing the risk of death when they are involved in a crash. A higher incidence of distraction and impairment, in addition to speeding and low lighting on roadways, were reported to be causation factors in crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists specifically during evening or nighttime hours.

Excessive vehicle speeds also have serious implications for bicyclists. The League of American Bicyclists attempted to track and analyze every bicyclist fatality in the U.S. between 2011 and 2013, finding that 44% of fatalities occurred on high-speed urban arterial roads (McLeod and Murphy, 2014).

A recent study from Texas A&M University found, “While high design speeds are viewed as desirable for motorist safety, they are not safe for pedestrians and bicyclists” (Essex et. al, 2017). In 2017, there were 783 bicyclists killed in traffic crashes in the United States (NCSA, 2018b). States reported that the increase in bicyclists and pedestrians on our roads calls for increased efforts to ensure the safety of all road users, including reducing incidence of speeding. Reducing speeding-related bicyclist fatalities by identifying countermeasures and implementing infrastructural improvements such as traffic calming measures and road diets is essential to improving overall road safety.

So DC is still relatively safe compared to other areas, primarily because so many passenger miles are traveled in something other than a car, but to make roads safer we need people to not drive drunk and to slow down. All of my most important Vision Zero thoughts are in that sentence. 

One more thing:

A recent study ... showed that marijuana had no effect on the variability of speed. In fact, in the combined alcohol and marijuana condition, it appeared marijuana mitigated some of the effects found with alcohol by reducing the time spent above the speed limit. [Other studies in the field contradict that].

Comments

[Richard B]

Personally there was a mechanism for regular folks to report speeding like other crimes. If I have video of someone shoplifting that is totally fine to report and have the government take it as evidence.

But you cannot report video of problematic behavior if it occurs in a car and have anyone do anything with it. There are still numerous roads without speeding cameras and they only cover a block at a time. We need an all hands on approach.

[Crickey]

Cops almost never pull anyone over for speeding. There is no reason for not adopting cameras more broadly.