GARNER — The statewide “Speed A Little. Lose A Lot.” campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of speeding is underway, which not only means water-cooler and dinner table discussions about the simple truths about speeding, but increased law enforcement and driver checkpoints.
“More blue lights, less yellow tape, that’s at the core of our mission,” said Mark Ezzell, director of the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program, which aims to eliminate preventable deaths on North Carolina roads.
“We hope that during this week, through a combination of enforcement, education and empowerment we can all help reach the goal of the Governor’s NC Vision Zero initiative: a coordinated effort to change traffic safety culture and bring North Carolina’s traffic deaths to zero,” Ezzell said.
NC GHSP held a kick-off event at Fort Bragg on Friday, April 12, in front of nearly 200 military and civilians. Fort Bragg is not only the largest military base in the country, but sits in a county that has fifth highest rate of speeding in North Carolina.
The message was simple: “Speed A Little. Lose A Lot.”
Ezzell told the crowd: “We’re rushing to work, school, to eat, to play. We’re rushing to get there first, and ultimately, we’re rushing to die. The rush is claiming too many lives on North Carolina roadways.”
Speed is the number one factor in preventable deaths and the statistics don’t lie.
Fast Facts:
Speed-related fatalities ranked by county in 2018:
- Mecklenburg: 38
- Wake: 16
- Harnett (tied): 15
- Cumberland (tied): 15
- Forsyth: 11
Overall speed-related fatalities, 2014-2018:
- 2014: 349
- 2015: 322
- 2016: 370
- 2017: 336
- 2018: 313
Total reportable speed-related crashes, 2014-2018:
- 2014: 19,699
- 2015: 20,348
- 2016: 18,982
- 2017: 17,495
- 2018: 21,339
Governor’s Highway Safety Program Assistant Director Cheryl Leonard helped kicked off the annual anti-speeding event. “We really need drivers to slow down, they put their lives at risk and the lives of others when they go even a little beyond the posted speed limits,” Leonard said.
Speeding is more than just breaking the law. The consequences are far-ranging.
“Losing a lot doesn’t just mean life or death, people can lose their freedom, employment, respect, money and more,” Leonard added. “It’s just not worth it.”
The Governor’s Highway Safety Program promotes highway safety awareness through grants and safe driving initiatives like: Click It or Ticket, BikeSafe NC, Watch For Me NC, Speed a Little. Lose a Lot, and North Carolina’s Vision Zero initiative.
