Dangers of speeding — Massachusetts Permit Test
Dangers of speeding on the Massachusetts permit test — 4 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.
The rules
About one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities involve speeding.
A third of the people killed died in a crash where somebody was going too fast. It is the largest single factor on the list.
About one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities involve speeding.
At 20 mph, 13% of pedestrians are seriously injured or killed in a crash, rising to 40% at 30 mph and 73% at 40 mph.
Ten miles an hour triples the chance of killing somebody on foot. That is what the speed limit near a school is about.
At a speed of 20 mph, 13% of pedestrians are seriously injured or killed in a crash. At 30 mph, that increases to 40% and at 40 mph it increases to 73%.
Drivers traveling fast do not see well, cannot stop quickly, and have a greater chance of losing control of the vehicle.
Speed takes away all three at once. The vehicle's own safety equipment is also less effective at high speed.
Drivers travelling fast do not see well, cannot stop quickly, and have a greater chance of losing control of the vehicle.
The leading threat to the safety of pedestrians is the speed of vehicles.
Not distraction, not darkness. The manual puts speed first, and the injury figures on the same page are why.
The leading threat to the safety of pedestrians is the speed of vehicles.
On the test
About what share of motor vehicle fatalities involves speeding?
One-third. A third of the people killed died in a crash where somebody was going too fast. It is the largest single factor on the list. Massachusetts Driver's Manual, p.78: “About one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities involve speeding.”
How this works
Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.
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All Massachusetts permit topics
Where these come from
Every rule here is checked against Massachusetts Driver's Manual, published by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-16.
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/MA.pdf (Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Revised April 2026, Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, retrieved 2026-09-14 from mass.gov)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/MA.pages.txt (pdftotext -layout over that PDF; sha256 pinned in SOURCES.json)
- src/assets/drivers-manuals/SOURCES.json (sha256, folio offset 8, folioMarker, nonLawPages, signGalleryPages and the extraction flag, each with its measured basis)