Our Phoenix speed-related car accident lawyers can investigate whether another driver's excessive or unsafe speed contributed to your collision. If the other driver denies speeding or was never issued a ticket, the Law Bear team can examine physical evidence, available electronic information, photographs and video, witness accounts, and the circumstances leading to the crash to determine how speed affected what happened.
Speed-related accidents are not limited to drivers traveling above the posted limit. Arizona law requires motorists to adjust their speed to existing hazards and conditions. A driver traveling at the posted speed limit could still be moving too fast for congested traffic, reduced visibility, or other dangerous conditions.
Injured in a Wreck? The Bear Has Your Back.
If you were injured in a crash involving a speeding driver, call Law Bear Injury Lawyers at (309) 365-6510 for a free case review. We are available 24/7, and you pay no attorney's fee unless we win.
- How Can the Phoenix Speed-Related Car Accident Attorneys at Law Bear Help?
- When Can a Driver's Speed Be Considered Negligent Under Arizona Law?
- How Serious Are Speed-Related Crashes in Arizona?
- Why Can Speed Make a Phoenix Collision More Dangerous?
- What Types of Phoenix Car Accidents Commonly Involve Unsafe Speed?
- How Our Attorneys Investigate Whether Speed Actually Caused the Crash
- What If the Speeding Driver Was Not Ticketed?
- What Compensation Can You Recover After a Speed-Related Accident?
- How Long Do You Have to File a Speed-Related Accident Claim in Arizona?
- Frequently Asked Questions About Phoenix Speed-Related Accidents
- Trust the Law Bear Team to Fight for You After a Phoenix Speed-Related Accident
How Can the Phoenix Speed-Related Car Accident Attorneys at Law Bear Help?
Proving that speed contributed to an accident can be challenging when nobody measured the other vehicle's speed immediately before impact. An insurance company may also argue that the driver was traveling within the posted limit or that another action caused the collision.
Our Phoenix speed-related car crash lawyers can:
- Investigate the circumstances leading to the collision
- Preserve available physical, electronic, and video evidence
- Determine whether excessive or unsafe speed contributed to the crash
- Identify other negligent actions or parties that may have played a role
- Challenge unsupported attempts to shift blame to you
- Document your injuries and financial losses
- Handle insurance communications and settlement negotiations
- File a lawsuit and present your case at a trial when appropriate
A speeding ticket can provide relevant information, but it is not the only way to establish negligence. In fact, Arizona has a civil speed-violation law that provides that a plaintiff in a civil action still bears the burden of proving that a defendant's negligence was a proximate cause of an accident, even when a speed restriction is involved.
Our attorneys focus on what the evidence shows the driver was doing and how that conduct contributed to your injuries, rather than building your entire claim around whether the police issued a citation.
When Can a Driver's Speed Be Considered Negligent Under Arizona Law?
Arizona Law § 28-701 states that drivers shall not travel faster than is “reasonable and prudent” considering existing circumstances, conditions, and actual or potential hazards. Drivers must also control their speed as necessary to avoid a collision. That creates an important distinction between exceeding a speed limit and driving too fast for conditions.
Driving Above the Applicable Speed Limit
A posted speed limit establishes an important legal restriction on how fast motorists can drive. Arizona also has a separate excessive-speed provision that applies to certain particularly high speeds, including exceeding the posted limit by more than 20 mph in specified circumstances.
However, the amount by which someone exceeded the limit is only part of the liability investigation. Our attorneys still examine how that speed affected the driver's ability to react and whether it contributed to the collision.
Driving Too Fast for Existing Conditions
A motorist does not have to exceed the posted limit to drive at an unsafe speed. Arizona law specifically requires drivers to reduce their speed when hazards require it, including when approaching intersections or curves and when traffic, weather, pedestrians, or highway conditions create special hazards.
For example, a driver could potentially be traveling too fast when approaching:
- Heavy or stopped freeway traffic
- A construction-zone lane closure
- An unexpected traffic backup
- Reduced visibility caused by weather or dust
- A congested intersection
- A curve or other roadway condition requiring additional caution
A posted speed limit, therefore, should not be treated as a guarantee that traveling at that exact speed is safe under every condition.
How Serious Are Speed-Related Crashes in Arizona?
Speed remains a significant factor in serious Arizona traffic accidents. According to the Arizona Department of Transportation, speeding was reported in crashes resulting in 417 fatalities and 20,722 injuries statewide in one recent year. Those figures represented approximately 34% of Arizona traffic fatalities and 38% of traffic injuries that year.
ADOT's driver-level data provides additional context. In that year:
- 32,466 drivers involved in reported Arizona crashes were identified as driving too fast for conditions.
- 733 drivers were identified as exceeding the lawful speed.
- Drivers traveling too fast for conditions accounted for 13.75% of all drivers involved in reported crashes statewide.
These numbers should not be interpreted to mean that speed caused every injury or death recorded in those crashes. They do, however, demonstrate how frequently unsafe speed appears in Arizona collision data and why it deserves careful investigation after a serious accident.
Why Can Speed Make a Phoenix Collision More Dangerous?
Speed can affect a crash in two different ways: whether the collision could have been avoided, and what happens when the vehicles collide.
A faster-moving driver has less time to respond to a hazard that appears ahead. The vehicle also travels farther during the driver's reaction time and generally requires more stopping distance. If the collision cannot be avoided, higher impact speeds can contribute to greater crash forces.
Those effects can become especially important on Phoenix-area freeways when traffic moving at highway speeds encounters an abrupt slowdown. A driver who fails to adjust quickly enough may close the distance to stopped or slower traffic before having sufficient room to brake safely.
Speed can also matter at intersections, during merges, and when drivers make sudden evasive maneuvers. We investigate every type of speed-related crash to determine what happened and who should be held responsible to pay your losses.
What Types of Phoenix Car Accidents Commonly Involve Unsafe Speed?
Speed can contribute to many different collision patterns, but the way it affects the crash varies.
Rear-End Accidents
A driver traveling too fast for traffic conditions may not have enough distance to stop when vehicles ahead slow down. The posted limit may matter less than whether the driver's speed was reasonable for the congestion they were approaching.
Intersection Accidents
A speeding driver may have less time to react to a changing traffic signal, a vehicle turning across the roadway, or another developing hazard. Speed can also affect how quickly a vehicle reaches an intersection, which may become important when drivers disagree about the sequence of events.
Merging and Lane-Change Crashes
Large differences in vehicle speeds can complicate merging. A vehicle approaching substantially faster than surrounding traffic can close an apparently open gap quickly, while an unsafe lane change can create a hazard for a faster-moving vehicle already occupying the lane.
Our investigation must consider both drivers' actions, rather than assuming speed automatically establishes all fault.
Freeway and Multi-Vehicle Collisions
Speed can be particularly consequential when freeway traffic suddenly slows. One initial collision may be followed by additional impacts as approaching motorists attempt to brake or change lanes. These cases require determining the sequence of impacts and evaluating each driver's conduct separately.
How Our Attorneys Investigate Whether Speed Actually Caused the Crash
A driver's admission that they were speeding can be useful, but most drivers do not admit to speeding before a collision. At Law Bear, our attorneys instead look for evidence that can independently establish vehicle movement and the circumstances before impact.
| Evidence | What It May Help Establish |
| Available dashcam or surveillance video | Vehicle movement and relative speed before impact |
| Event data recorder information | Certain pre-crash vehicle information, such as speed and braking activity |
| Roadway and physical evidence | Brake skid marks, vehicle movement, impact location, and crash mechanics |
| Vehicle damage | How the vehicles collided and the nature of the impact |
| Witness accounts | Observations about the driver's conduct before the crash |
| Crash reconstruction when warranted | How multiple sources of physical evidence fit together |
No single piece of evidence should automatically be treated as proof of a precise pre-crash speed. Severe vehicle damage does not by itself prove speeding, just as the absence of a speeding ticket does not establish that the driver was traveling safely.
Our attorneys can examine how the available evidence fits together to determine whether excessive or unsafe speed actually contributed to your collision in Phoenix.
What If the Speeding Driver Was Not Ticketed?
A driver does not need to receive a speeding ticket for you to pursue a civil injury claim based on unsafe speed. Police officers may not have witnessed the collision, and the information available during the initial crash investigation may differ from evidence obtained later.
Likewise, receiving a citation does not automatically establish civil liability. A car accident claim requires evidence connecting the driver's negligent conduct to the collision and resulting injuries. The Law Bear team can independently investigate speed rather than relying solely on whether law enforcement issued a citation.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Speed-Related Accident?
If another driver's negligence caused your Phoenix car accident, you may be able to pursue compensation for losses such as:
- Medical expenses and future expected treatment costs
- Lost wages and future reduced earning capacity
- Vehicle damage and other property losses
- Pain, suffering, and other qualifying personal harm
If you were partially responsible for the crash, don’t despair. Arizona's pure comparative negligence system allows an injured person to recover compensation when they share some responsibility for an accident. However, your damages will be reduced according to your percentage of fault.
If an insurance company claims that you contributed to the crash, that accusation does not determine your percentage of responsibility. The evidence does.
How Long Do You Have to File a Speed-Related Accident Claim in Arizona?
Under Arizona’s statute of limitations, personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years after the accident. Different deadlines or procedural requirements can apply in certain cases, so don’t assume the general two-year period controls your claim. Instead, reach out to our car accident team to learn exactly when your window of opportunity closes.
Also, starting an investigation earlier can help preserve video, electronic information, witness accounts, and other evidence that may help establish speed or other negligence in support of your claim. Don’t wait any longer to reach out for a free case review.
Frequently Asked Questions About Phoenix Speed-Related Accidents
Can a Passenger File a Claim After a Speeding Accident?
Yes, a passenger injured by another person's negligence can seek compensation for their losses. Depending on what caused the collision, a claim could involve the driver of another vehicle, the driver of the vehicle carrying the passenger, or other responsible parties.
What If the Speeding Driver Was Driving a Company Vehicle?
The driver's employer or another business could potentially bear responsibility depending on the driver's employment relationship, what the driver was doing at the time of the crash, and other circumstances. Our attorneys can investigate the driver's work activities and the company's potential legal responsibility rather than assuming the driver is the only possible defendant.
Can Speed Be Proven After a Hit-and-Run Accident?
Potentially. Even when a driver leaves the scene, available surveillance or dashcam footage, witness accounts, physical evidence, and other information may help investigators reconstruct what happened. Identifying the vehicle and applicable insurance coverage creates additional issues, making early evidence preservation particularly important.
Trust the Law Bear Team to Fight for You After a Phoenix Speed-Related Accident
A driver does not have to admit to speeding for evidence to show that excessive or unsafe speed contributed to your injuries. At Law Bear Injury Lawyers, our Phoenix speed-related car accident lawyers can investigate what happened, preserve available evidence, challenge unsupported insurance arguments, and fight for the compensation you are entitled to receive under Arizona law.
Call Law Bear Injury Lawyers at (309) 365-6510 for a free case review now. We are available 24/7, and you pay no attorney's fee unless we win.
Injured in a Wreck? The Bear Has Your Back.