Speed is the crash factor with the cleanest math: it stretches stopping distance, shrinks reaction windows, and multiplies impact energy — severity rises steeply, not linearly, with velocity, which is why IIHS and NHTSA data put speeding in a third of fatal crashes, year after year.
- The physics: doubling speed roughly quadruples kinetic energy — the difference between the fender-bender and the catastrophic case is often just velocity.
- The law’s two speeds: posted limits, and Pennsylvania’s driving-too-fast-for-conditions rule — rain, ice, fog, and work zones lower the lawful speed below the sign, and ‘I was under the limit’ is not a defense to conditions (PennDOT frames the duty).
- Proving it: event data recorders, crush analysis, and reconstruction — modern vehicles testify about their own speed, making this cause increasingly provable.
- The comparative angle: a speeding victim isn’t a barred victim — percentages, not purity, decide recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
The other driver was speeding but I made the turn. Who’s at fault?
Both conducts get weighed — excessive speed defeats right-of-way assumptions regularly, because yielding calculations assume lawful approach speeds. Reconstruction sorts the percentages.
How do we prove speed without a police radar reading?
Vehicle data recorders, damage-energy analysis, camera timing, and witness corroboration — the modern toolkit rarely needs the radar gun.
What does hiring you cost?
No attorney’s fee unless we recover; percentage and cost handling are in the written fee agreement. Consultations are free.
Questions about your situation? Call (215) 464-4600 or contact us online — free, confidential consultations, contingency-fee representation.