Hey, Speed Demon: Here Are 8 Important Reasons To Start Slowing Down Behind The Wheel, Now
Whether you're new to the road, love driving, or such a chronic procrastinator that you're always late, driving too fast is a really bad habit that can catch up to you in many ways. No matter what your excuse for speeding, it's going to keep costing you in the short and long term, as long as you keep doing it.
1. Those Speeding Tickets Are Expensive
Each speeding ticket you're issued could drain your wallet upwards of $150, depending on how fast you were caught driving and where you were doing it. Especially in school zones, those tickets really eat away at your disposable income, if you have any to begin with.
2. Your Driving Record Suffers
The DMV attaches points to driver's records with every infraction incurred to make it easier to keep track of people who are likely to be more dangerous on the road. This system, while effective for identifying potentially disruptive motorists, will be used against you in a number of ways. You don't want to be viewed as a dangerous driver, especially over something as avoidable as speeding. If you're racking up too many points, give a traffic attorney a call for advice before those points get too high. You're either going to have to stop speeding or face some pretty serious consequences.
3. Insurance Goes Up Too
Insurance companies don't use DMV points to calculate your increases; they have their own nifty little formulas instead. That means you're not only accumulating bad points on your official driver's record, but you're also being tracked by the company you need to keep your car on the road. Frequent speeding tickets reflect poorly on your judgment, putting you in a more expensive category in the eyes of your insurer. Especially if you're younger with little experience behind the wheel, you're already a high-risk driver who's paying through the nose.
4. Speeding Is Worse For The Environment
No matter how late you may be or how much you love to take a corner at questionable speed, the faster you go, the faster you use up fuel, and that's costly to the environment. More CO2 is added to the atmosphere, and since CO2 is a greenhouse gas, you're probably contributing to global warming with your lead foot.
5. You're Spending More On Gas
Driving fast, gunning your engine for speedy starts, and braking frequently all contribute to excessive consumption of fuel, creating more waste for your budget. If you seem to be filling up your tank much more frequently than other drivers you know, it's likely due to your driving habits.
6. Without A Traffic Attorney, Court Will Cost You
At some point, you're likely to want to fight a ticket or two, either to save your license or avoid paying an outrageous bill, but spending time in traffic court means missing out on work and without an attorney working by your side, you're probably not going to beat the ticket, unless you can prove the issuing officer was wrong somehow. If you're looking to stop the cycle of speed and pay, speed and pay, you need a better plan than thinking you can simply show up in court and argue your innocence.
7. Your License Might Get Suspended
If too many speeding tickets are issued against you, those points may add up to a suspension of your driver's license. That would mean not being able to drive to work, which could leave you in dire financial straits. This is also something a lawyer could help you with, as sometimes you're allowed the exception of traveling to employment under a suspended license, but only with some knowledgeable legal maneuvering.
8. You Could Die Or Kill Someone Else
You don't need a lesson in physics to understand that the faster you're traveling, the greater the damage will be to both humans and vehicles. Also, when you're going too fast, you don't have time to make the split-second, life-saving decisions that can avoid collisions. While a traffic attorney may be able to get you out of a few tickets, they can't bring you or anyone else back from the dead. Additionally, you can be charged with vehicular homicide if your speeding results in the death of someone else, along with living with that guilt for the rest of your life.
Start slowing down behind the wheel or your life could quickly become more complicated. Also, hire an experienced traffic law attorney who can help you sort out the mess you've already made, along with advising you on how to put an end to your cycle of speeding and paying, speeding and paying. Eventually, the cycle stops with you losing more than you bargained for and likely more than you can afford.
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