No need for speed that costs us so much

Speeding is the cause of 30 percent of all traffic deaths in the United States - about 13,000 people a year. By comparison, alcohol is blamed 39 percent of the time, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But unlike drinking, which requires the police, breathalyzers and coercion to improve drivers' behavior, there's a simple way to prevent speeding: Quit building cars that can exceed the speed limit.

Most cars can travel faster than 100 mph - an illegal speed in every state. Our continued, deliberate production of potentially lawbreaking devices has no real precedent. We regulate all sorts of items to decrease danger to the public, from baby cribs to bicycle helmets. Yet we continue to produce fast cars despite the lives lost, the tens of billions spent treating accident victims, and a good deal of gasoline wasted. (Speeding, after all, substantially reduces fuel efficiency due to the shearing force of wind.)

Worse, throughout the various federal documents examining traffic fatalities, the role of speeding is de-emphasized. Speeding is not even an "agency priority" of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in its annual assessment of crashes - only alcohol, seat belts, rollovers and vehicle compatibility make the cut.