Indiana’s Speed-Related Crash Spike: What the 2024 Data Means for Injury Victims

October 22, 2026

• Indiana drivers are speeding more. That leads to more accidents, and those accidents tend to have worse injuries and, tragically, more fatalities.
• These accidents can lead to expensive bills and a decreased quality of life. The speeding motorists are generally liable for their actions, but there can be complications, and insurance companies may try to move blame around.
• To give yourself your best chance at getting full financial recovery, consider working with an Indiana car accident lawyer who is dedicated to your best life.

 Indiana is almost synonymous with speed. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the most famous racetrack in the world, and the Crossroads of America is renowned for its open highways and easy country roads. But when Indiana drivers speed excessively, bad things happen.

Dangerous and even deadly speed-related crashes have been spiking across Indiana over the last few years.  These have led to a rash of serious injuries and fatalities.  The medical and rehab bills that result can cost Indiana drivers tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars and permanently alter their lives.

There is no consensus on why drivers are speeding more. But there is conclusive evidence of an increase in Indiana speed-related crashes. And if you are in an accident with a speeding driver, you deserve financial recovery. Working with an experienced and tenacious Indiana car accident lawyer can be the best way to get what you need to get your life back together.

The Numbers Behind Indiana’s Speed-Related Crashes

Speeding exacerbates every hazardous situation. If you are approaching one of the new displaced left-turn lanes on the Lloyd Expressway, a driver who is unfamiliar with how they work will have less time to figure it out if speeding. The risks posed by some of the most dangerous intersections in the state can also be magnified by speeding drivers. Challenging sightlines are made worse, and the time to react to the unpredictable movements of delivery trucks can be shortened.

Whether you are in an urban area or a rural or exurban road, speeding drivers are an increasing menace. The numbers from the most recent Indiana Crash Facts Report back that up:

• There were 15,028 speed-related crashes in Indiana in 2024 – an 11% jump from the year before!
• There was a 30% spike in crashes caused by drivers going too fast for weather conditions.
• Speed-related crashes accounted for 8% of all car accidents but 24% of fatal crashes.

These are straightforward numbers, but each one reveals an accident with the potential to forever alter multiple lives. When you are in an accident with a speeding driver, the injuries can be considerably worse, requiring longer medical care, lengthier recovery times, and potentially more missed wages – even the inability to work again.

If you’ve been forced to deal with a crash that could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars and decrease your quality of life, you deserve compensation. Let’s look at how speeding could impact your financial recovery.

How Indiana Law Handles Speeding for Injury Victims

Indiana is what is known as a “comparative fault” state. By law, if you are less than 51% responsible for an accident, you should be entitled to compensation.

But here’s where it can get contentious. If the other insurance company shows that you are somewhat responsible for the crash, comparative fault means that it can deduct from what it owes you. So if you are awarded $50,000 but are 20% at fault, you might receive only $40,000.

However, speeding can complicate things for the insurance company, since it could make the insured driver more at fault not just for the accident itself, but also for the severity of the injuries to you or anyone else in the car.

Sometimes the law is very clear-cut: the police report shows that the driver was speeding, and that driver assumes liability.

Other times, though, things aren’t quite as clear. Here are some more complicated scenarios:

Too Fast for Conditions

Remember our stat about the driver going too fast for weather conditions? Think about fog coming off the lake or snow becoming blinding on I-65. A driver can be going the speed limit but still be driving too fast for weather conditions. Driving 70 miles per hour on a clear day is a lot different from driving 70 when visibility drops to almost zero. That means the driver is still responsible even if he or she wasn’t technically driving illegally.

Multiple Defendants

If you are hit by a delivery truck driver, a semi truck driver, or a driver for a rideshare service (such as Uber or Lyft), there are scenarios where the company the driver is working for could share liability.

Additionally, road construction could play a part in the accident. If sightlines or conditions are altered in ways that do not meet safety standards, the contractor or the city/state that hired it could share liability.

What Should You Do If You Are Hit by a Speeding Driver?

These cases are complicated, but there are steps you can take to protect yourself:

• Get an accident report. This will say if the driver was speeding but also record conditions. There might be no citation issued for speeding, but the accident report will show if the other driver was going too fast for conditions, which has bearing on your claim.
• Seek medical treatment. Get full documentation of your injuries and start an indisputable paper trail.
• Contact an Indiana car accident attorney. A skilled legal professional will know the law, be compassionate about your recovery, and have the tenacity to fight to the end.

Reach Out to Our Indiana Car Accident Attorneys

The car accident lawyers who will fight for you are at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998.

Simply call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form now for a free consultation with a knowledgeable Indiana car accident attorney.