AAA Study Finds Speeding Normalized, Posing Risks on U.S. Roads

A AAA Foundation study of 16,000 drivers finds that nearly half think keeping up with traffic is safer than the posted limit, and about a third believe no one actually drives the limit. Nationally, speeding contributed to about 30% of 2024 traffic fatalities, with Michigan logging 22,260 speed-related crashes and 177 deaths that year. The results help explain stepped-up speed enforcement and suggest education, targeted policing, and speed cameras could reduce deaths, as drivers respond most to the threat of tickets and warnings rather than safety messaging.