Drivers Beware: South Carolina Leads Nation in Speed-Related Traffic Deaths

October 26, 2015

 

According to an article, the number of traffic tickets issued annually in South Carolina averages between 66,000 to 75,000 every year, depending on a number of factors including the number of vehicles on the road, the backgrounds of the drivers, and often times the weather.  In fact, South Carolina historically has remained the state with the highest number of speed-related traffic deaths, so it is not by any surprise that the state issues such a high number of traffic tickets each and every year.  

In South Carolina, speeding, including where it results in a speed related traffic death, is considered dangerous driving offense, subjecting the driver to significant driving offense-related points, including driving suspension, revocation, and/or cancellation.  From a legal perspective, the fact that a speeding driver causes a traffic-related accident, resulting in significant bodily injury, harm or even death, also means that as a victim, you have substantial legal rights and recourse for recovery under the law.  

From a liability perspective, a speeding-related accident occurring in South Carolina that results in significant bodily injury, harm, or death, by itself, may be sufficient to trigger the liable driver’s insurance coverage amounts.  In South Carolina, as is the case in many states, drivers are required to carry a mandatory minimum amount of insurance, and in South Carolina the mandatory insurance coverage amounts include $25,000 per a person for bodily injury, $50,000 for all persons injured in one accident, and $25,000 for property damage.  

To the extent that the automobile insurance may be insufficient to cover damages to those victims involved in a speed-related traffic accident resulting in significant bodily injury, harm, or death, a party may be able to assert claims for negligence under South Carolina’s automobile laws.  In fact, South Carolina’s courts have frequently evaluated the contributory role speed often plays into automobile accidents, and in many cases where excessive speed is involved, will automatically find liability against a particular party on that basis alone.  More specifically, South Carolina courts have determined that “speed” can be deemed a contributory factor in car accidents and determining whether liability exists.  The significance of this is that the although the facts and circumstances vary from case to case, in accidents where excessive speed was involved, such can be a substantive basis by which the court is able to impose negligence and liability upon the offending driver and in favor of any and all victims of such negligence.    

Contact a Skilled South Carolina Attorney

If you have suffered harm or injury as a result of a speed-related car accident, don’t hesitate to contact a South Carolina attorney at the Connell Law Firm.  Our attorneys have significant experience assisting injury victims and will advocate on your behalf today.