Kennewick Personal Injury Lawyers

Kennewick Speeding Accident Lawyers

Skilled representation when speeding drivers cause injuries and deaths in Southeast Washington

Drivers in Kennewick and the Tri-Cities region are required to know the speed limits for all the roads they drive on – from rural roads and parking lots to state roads and interstate highways. Drivers who exceed the speed limit are much more likely to cause car accidents, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle accidents than drivers who obey the speed limit. Those who drive too fast for weather or traffic conditions may also be liable for any accidents they cause, even if they are driving below the speed limit.

Speeding often causes severe and deadly accidents in Southeast Washington because speed/velocity is one of the factors that add to the force of a collision. At Telaré Law, our Kennewick speeding accident lawyers work with the police, investigators, and traffic reconstruction professionals when necessary to show how fast each driver was traveling when the crash occurred. We question everyone involved to show why a driver’s speeding caused an accident. We’ve helped numerous car accident victims obtain strong recoveries.

What are the dangers of speeding?

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirms the following deadly and dangerous statistics for 2019 and 2020 in Washington State:

  • In 2019, 152 people died (28 percent of all fatalities) in accidents due to speeding.
  • In 2020, 167 people died (30 percent of all fatalities) in accidents due to speeding.

Nationally, in 2020, 11,258 people died in traffic accidents due to speeding – 29 percent of all deaths. These numbers include speeding accidents where an officer “indicated that racing, driving too fast for conditions, or exceeding the posted speed limit was a contributing factor in the crash.”

Drivers who speed don’t have enough time to respond to emergencies, are more likely to run through stop signs and red lights, cause rear-end collisions, and create other traffic risks. Drivers who speed are more likely to lose control of their vehicles. Drivers who are in the path of a speeding driver have less time to get out of the way. Speed may impact the efficiency of airbags and seat belts.

Truck drivers who speed are especially dangerous because trucks are so big and heavy. Increased speed dramatically increases the likelihood of a catastrophic or deadly accident. Motorcycle riders, pedestrians, and bicycle riders are very likely to die or be hospitalized if a driver speeds.

Why do people speed in Kennewick?

There are many reasons drivers speed, and none of these reasons justifies causing an accident. Some of these reasons include:

  • Driving while distracted. There’s no excuse for texting while driving, talking on a smartphone that isn’t hands-free, or doing any activity that takes the driver’s mind off of traffic, hands off the wheel, and eyes off the road.
  • Driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs. Drivers who are intoxicated or impaired by drugs often don’t realize how fast they’re going.
  • Being under pressure to make deliveries or appointments. Truck companies often push drivers to meet unrealistic schedules.
  • Not knowing what the speed limit is. Drivers should know the speed of the roads on which they’re traveling. If they don’t, they should stay in the right lane and travel slowly until the speed limit becomes clear.
  • Not compensating for dangerous weather. Drivers need to slow down when it rains, snows, is icy, or foggy. Drivers should also slow down if the glare of the sun makes it hard to see.
  • False sense of confidence. Most drivers acknowledge that speeding is dangerous, yet it doesn’t stop them for speeding themselves. Drivers should never race. Just because a rural road doesn’t have many cars is no reason to exceed the speed limit.

If traffic is congested, as it often is during rush hour, drivers need to slow down so they don’t rear-end other cars. They should generally stay in the same lane instead of swerving between lanes to get farther ahead.

What types of injuries do speeding drivers cause?

At Telaré Law, our Kennewick speeding accident attorneys work with your doctors and our network of doctors to understand the full scope of your injuries, your medical expenses, and your physical and emotional harm, including any loss of function, scars, or disfigurement.  We represent victims with serious or catastrophic injuries including:

  • Head trauma and traumatic brain injuries
  • Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
  • Traumatic amputation/loss of limb
  • Burn injuries
  • Complex, compound, multiple, and simple fractures
  • Head, neck, and shoulder injuries
  • Whiplash
  • Internal bleeding and organ damage
  • Loss of vision or hearing
  • Nerve, tissue, ligament, and muscle damage
  • Any type of chronic pain

We file wrongful death lawsuits if a speeding accident tragically causes a loved one to die.

How do your Kennewick speeding accident lawyers prove my case?

There is no requirement that a driver be charged with a speeding offense to file your civil claim. There are many different ways our Kennewick speeding accident lawyers can show a driver was speeding or driving too fast for conditions. These methods include:

  • The testimony of a police officer. Police officers can use radar and their own vehicle speed to show how fast a driver was traveling. Police are normally called to investigate every aspect of a traffic accident and help anyone who is injured.
  • The testimony of the driver of the car you or your loved one was in. Victims can testify how fast a driver was traveling just by referencing the speed that was registered on the odometer at the time of the collision.
  • Other drivers can testify. A nearby driver can testify as to how fast they were traveling in relation to your and the speeding vehicle.
  • The testimony of investigators. We work with investigators who examine the accident site, including looking for skid marks, the number of lanes of travel, speed limit signs, and all other road conditions that might indicate a driver was speeding or driving too fast for conditions.
  • The reports of traffic reconstruction experts. Our Kennewick speeding accident lawyers work with traffic reconstruction experts. These experts use computer graphics, engineering formulas, and other evidence to show how fast each driver was traveling when the accident happened.

We examine any black boxes on trucks that record speed, any dashcams on any vehicles that may have recorded the accident, or nearby doorbell videos or other video surveillance of the accident. Sometimes, the extent of vehicle damage is an indication of speed.

We also examine where the accident happened. Speeding increases the risk of an accident when there are detours and uneven roads such as at road construction sites. Truck accidents on rural roads are common because the elements take a toll on the roads which are repaired less frequently than other roads and because drivers may speed because they think there aren’t any police nearby.

Do you have a speeding accident attorney near me?

Telaré Law sees speeding accident victims and families at our office in Kennewick at 819 South Auburn St.  We also meet clients at our office in Richland. Our lawyers will make home and hospital visits for ill clients. Video conferences are also an option.

We’ll fight for full compensation for your economic and personal damages.

Talk to an experienced Kennewick speeding accident lawyer today

There’s no excuse for speeding or driving too fast for weather or traffic conditions. Saving a few minutes of time isn’t worth injuries that change a victim’s life – or tragically, end one altogether. At Telaré Law, our Kennewick speeding accident lawyers work aggressively and tenaciously to hold speeding drivers and any other responsible parties accountable for the harm they cause.

We represent distracted driving victims in Kennewick, Richland, Pasco, Walla Walla, Pullman, Othello, Moses Lake, Ritzville, and all of Southeast Washington. Call our Kennewick vehicle accident lawyers or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation.

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