Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. What share of U.S. traffic deaths involve speeding?

Chart 1 of 1 · Road safety

What share of U.S. traffic deaths involve speeding?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

In 2024, 29% of U.S. traffic deaths were in crashes where police reported that a driver was speeding: over the limit, too fast for conditions, or racing. The share was 33 to 37% in the 1980s, fell to 26% in 2018 and rose to 29% in 2020. It depends on what officers record after a crash.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2024

Open the chart and its numbers

Teachers: make your own chart assignment, or change this one. Free, no account needed.