Crash Course: Virginia officials want to crack down on speeding, but the problem is much deeper than that

Every year there's an annual tradition: the presentation of horrifying car crash data and accompanying awareness efforts and safety campaigns. Do they really help?

Every year there's an annual tradition: the presentation of horrifying car crash data and accompanying awareness efforts and safety campaigns. As the Virginia Mercury recently reported, state officials are gearing up to launch traffic safety campaigns with an emphasis on reducing speeding, which could include speeding cameras, stepped-up enforcement, and speed limit changes, because of an uptick in speed-related fatalities.

"In 2020, traffic deaths shot up 7.2 percent nationwide and speeding-related crashes increased 11 percent." VM reported." Here in the commonwealth (Virginia), that terrifying trend meant that 847 people died in car collisions last year with 406 of those fatalities — roughly 48 percent — directly attributable to excessive speeds."

Back in March, the Albemarle County Police announced they were teaming up with the Virginia State Police to step up speed limit enforcement, as recently released data from the Virginia DMV Highway Safety Office indicated that there'd been…