It comes as no surprise that a federal study shows speeding plays a decisive role in many deadly traffic accidents. But it comes as alarming news that the study shows South Carolina had the nation's highest rate of speeding-related traffic deaths from 1983 through 2002. And no expertise or research should be required to know that if more drivers would slow down, fewer people would die on our state's roadways.

According to research released last week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 50 percent of the 19,211 traffic fatalities in South Carolina during that two-decade period were directly related to speeding - substantially higher that the national rate of 32 percent. Tom Crosby, spokesman for AAA Carolinas, cited a relative shortage of state troopers as a major factor behind this tragic statistic, telling The Associated Press: "This is compelling, graphic evidence of the effect of cutting or failure to fund the state Highway Patrol." And Max Young, director of the S.C. Office of Highway Safety, cited the poor condition of many "farm to market" rural roads, where a high percentage of fatal collisions occur.

The General Assembly's decision this year to appropriate funding for 100 additional troopers should help deter speeding, saving lives in the process. And more funding for properly maintaining those secondary roads would help, too.

But drivers who possess sufficient self-preservation motivation shouldn't need the threat of an expensive ticket to lower the risk of mechanized death by lowering their speed to a reasonable level. With our state's highways increasingly congested, frustrations over traffic delays can prompt foolish attempts to make up for lost time by not just speeding, but tailgating and running red lights.

The best way to get there in one piece remains obeying traffic laws, including speeding laws, while driving defensively, not offensively. Leading the nation in speed-related traffic fatalities is a grim distinction for South Carolina - and a correctable one.