According to the World Health Organization, speeding increases both the likelihood of a crash occurring and the severity of the consequences of the crash. This begs the question, is speeding ever actually worth it?
To answer this question, we looked at the maximum posted speed limits across the U.S. and determined how much time would be saved going on a typical trip in every state. We also found out how fast and far drivers would have to travel to save a substantial amount of time when driving.
In an effort to easily illustrate the relationship between distance, speed, and time, our data reflects car trips that happen on interstates to remove any variables like traffic lights and speed fluctuations.
We hope this research demonstrates how little is gained by driving recklessly, especially when you consider the increased chance of being involved in serious accidents.
Table of Contents
How Much Time Does Speeding Save in Every State?
We examined the not-so-practical implications of speeding by determining how much time you actually save during a typical car trip in every state. The average American drives 29 miles per day, so we rounded our journey up to 30 miles for simplicity and calculated how many minutes you would save by driving 10 MPH over the maximum posted speed limit in every state.
In Hawaii, where the maximum speed limit is 55 MPH, drivers gain just 4 minutes and 17 seconds on a 30-mile drive. When that max speed limit is 65 MPH, in states like Kentucky, New York, and Oregon, that time reduces to 3 minutes and 41 seconds.
Even in states with a 70 MPH limit like Florida, Ohio, and Washington, the time saved is only 3 minutes and 13 seconds. If you increase that speed limit by just 5 to 75 MPH, like in Colorado, Idaho, and Texas, the time saved further diminishes to just 2 minutes and 49 seconds. Lastly, in the few states with an 80 MPH limit, Montana, Nevada, and South Dakota, drivers save only 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Many Americans are guilty of speeding when they’re running late, or to make up for time lost in traffic, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It’s clear that driving 10 MPH over the limit only earns you a handful of extra minutes on an average trip — not worth the potential consequences.
How Fast Must Americans Drive to Save Substantial Time?
When it comes to attempting to save time on the road, we’ve seen that driving recklessly on a typical trip doesn’t do much. Now let’s look at it from a different perspective. How far over the speed limit would you have to travel to save just 10 minutes on a 30-mile journey?
In Hawaii, you’d have to drive a whopping 85 MPH in a 55 MPH zone to make up just 10 minutes on your trip. In states like Connecticut, Delaware, and Massachusetts, where the max speed limit jumps to 65 MPH, you’d have to drive 102 MPH on the highway, 37 MPH over the limit.
As the baseline speed increases, the speed at which you’d have to exceed the limit does too. Drivers in states like Alabama, California, and Georgia, who have a max speed limit of 70 MPH, would have to travel at 115 MPH to save those 10 minutes. With a starting speed of 75 MPH, like in Arizona, Arkansas, and Colorado, drivers would have to drive a 129 MPH.
In the 3 states with the highest max posted speed of 80 MPH, you’d have to drive a staggering 64 MPH over the limit to save just 10 minutes on a 30-mile trip. That’s 144 MPH, approaching NASCAR speeds.
These numbers paint a stark picture: the trade-off for those few minutes could come at a hefty price, not just in terms of safety but also in potential legal repercussions.
How Far Would You Have To Drive To Make Speeding “Worth It?”
To further demonstrate the negligible impact of speeding on travel time, we’ll examine the data from one more perspective. Specifically, how many miles do you have to drive 15 MPH over the speed limit to save 10 minutes.
As with the previous sections, the distance you’ll need to travel varies based on speed parameters in every state.
When the maximum speed limit is 55 MPH, you’d have to travel 50 miles to save 10 minutes! If the max speed limit is 70 MPH, your trip would have to be 66 miles, and if your max speed is 80 MPH your journey would have to be 84 miles to make up those 10 measly minutes.
Explore Our Data by State
Below is a full breakdown of our data. No matter how you look at the data, speeding isn’t worth the potential consequences.
Closing Thoughts
Speeding increases your risk of both getting into an accident and the severity of them but many people drive at higher speeds because they think the time they save is worth the risk. By examining the relationship between distance, time, and speed across different states, we hope to highlight how this notion does not reflect reality. Whether viewed by it’s the minuscule time savings or the staggering speeds you have to sustain to make them, speeding is never worth it.
But you can’t control what others do on the road. Reckless drivers are out there and staying protected is a must. Assurance IQ can help you find an auto insurance policy that fits your unique needs and budget.
Methodology
To determine how much time speeding saves you across the U.S., we found the maximum posted speed limit in every state from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and used the relationship between distance, speed, and time to find out how much time people in every state would save by speeding at different intervals on a typical trip.
Our typical trip estimation is 30 miles, which is the average number of miles people in the U.S. drive daily. We cannot account for every stop on the road, so our data assumes one is driving at a consistent speed to allow for more accurate comparisons.