You should be aware of your speed any time you drive a vehicle, but on July 24, you should be aware that you’re liable to get ticketed during Illinois Speed Awareness Day.

According to a new release from the Algonquin Police Department, Kane County area law enforcers are joining forces to take a proactive approach to promote safety for motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists through both education and enforcement.

In Illinois during 2017, speed was the reason for 42 percent of all fatal crashes. That’s 462 deaths for the year, or one life every 19 hours.

Law enforcers say these lives can be easily saved by being aware of our speed and understanding how speeding impacts a crash.

In residential areas, speeding can have the following consequences:

• When a pedestrian is hit by a car at 20 mph, there is a 10% likelihood of being killed. At a speed of 30 mph the percentage increases to a 50% likelihood of being killed.
• The higher the speed at impact, the more severe the injuries sustained.
• Almost 38% of the speed-related crashes result in injuries.
• When speeding there is a greater chance that other road users will misjudge how fast you are
  traveling.
• Speeding extends the distance required to stop a vehicle in emergency situations.
• Speeding reduces a driver’s ability to navigate safely around curves or objects in the roadway.

“Let’s all do our part by taking a proactive approach to prevent fatalities and reduce injuries on the roadways by being aware of our speed and obeying the speed limit signs ALL the time,” Algonquin police officials said in the news release.

For more information about Illinois Speed Awareness Day, please visit www.illinoisspeedawarenessday.org.

SOURCE: Algonquin Police Department news release