Yes. Excessive speed is dangerous driving.
If it is done accidentally, then that is proof the driver is not fully in control of their vehicle.
How much danger, and for whom depends on the skill of the driver. Even the most skilled drivers have a certain amount of reaction time necessary to avoid catastrophe. The faster the speed of the vehicle, the less time there is for appropriate action.
Not sure. I have sped to get out of a dangerous situation. I did it willfully and momentarily. If we are talking about driving while not paying attention and letting your speed drift up above the limit then I would say it is dangerous since the real issue is not speeding, but not paying attention.
Totally serious question here. I don’t drive and don’t know. But do modern cars and their screens and maps and GPS alert you if you are speeding? It seems like data they would have and could alert you.
@johnpowell if one is using waze, it tells you the speed limit and your own speed as calculated by GPS (not by the car’s instruments). And it gives you red numbers when you speed.
As @Patty_Melt said, trying to excuse speeding by saying it was just for a moment and you didn’t realize it means the driver isn’t scanning the instrument cluster, so is unaware of driving conditions.
It’s like driving for miles with a blinker on, that is prima facile evidence of being a distracted driver.
Exceeding the legal speed limit, and driving at a dangerous speed limit, are two different things, and in most cases, the legal limit is quite a bit lower than would actually be dangerous.
There are also some cases where the speed limit is allowed (at least in some places) to be exceeded temporarily, such as passing in the oncoming lane of a two-lane road.
Speaking of unaware drivers: When someone catches up to me, then never passes, never passes, never passes I start messing with them. I slowly increase my speed. And because they are so mindless they don’t realize the speed in increasing. I glance in the rearview mirror hoping to catch the look on their face when they actually check their speedometer and realize they’re doing 90. Then they let off the gas and fall behind. As soon as I get far enough away, I also fall back to the speed limit.