Speeding can be a form of Negligence on the Roadway
You’re driving at the posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour on an open roadway. It’s a bright noon day, the weather is clear, and there’s barely anyone on the road. You see a pedestrian crossing the road outside a crosswalk. Since it is a clear day you see the pedestrian in plenty of time to slow down and avoid hitting the pedestrian. In this case, by driving at the posted speed limit under the conditions you were able to keep control of your vehicle and react to a hazard in the manner an ordinarily prudent driver would. In short, you were not negligent. But suppose you were driving at the same speed on the same road at night. It’s raining, you have your headlights on, but you can only see 70 feet in front of your car due to poor visibility conditions. You don’t see the pedestrian in time and hit him while attempting to come to a screeching halt. Even through the pedestrian was negligent in crossing outside a crosswalk, you are also negligent because you were driving at an unsafe speed given the conditions. The rule is that every driver has a duty to act as an ordinarily prudent driver on the roadways, and if you fail in that duty and cause a car accident you may be held liable for negligence.
Speeding & Negligence Depends On The Circumstances
In both of the above scenarios you were driving at the posted speed limit of 55 miles per hour, but you were negligent in one instance because your speed was nevertheless excessive given the circumstances. In brief, whether a speed is excessive, and therefore whether you were speeding and thereby negligent, is a question of fact. The surrounding circumstances will suggest whether your speed was excessive, and whether your speeding constituted negligence resulting liability for personal injury in the event of a car accident.