Animals aren’t the only ones who come out of hibernation as temperatures warm up in the spring – drivers do, too. Whether it is a natural urge to get back outdoors after being cooped up indoors for weeks on end or the onset of daylight saving time, more motorists take to the streets and aren’t always practicing safe driving behaviors.

In fact, in an AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety survey, nearly half of drivers admitted exceeding the posted speed limit by 15 mph on a freeway and/or 10 mph on a residential street in the last month.

However, experts remind, speed kills.

Raising the maximum state speed limit by 5 mph increases fatality rates on interstates and highways by nearly 9 percent and almost 3 percent on other roads, according to an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study that spanned the past 25 years.

Released Thursday, the report states rising speed limits have resulted in about 37,000 deaths nationwide, including more than 1,900 in 2017 alone.

Since the mid-1990s, states have been consistently raising speed limits. Kentucky is one of 41 states with a maximum 70 mph limit. In 12 states, motorists can legally drive 75 mph, and six states – Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah and Nevada – have an 80 mph speed limit. On some Texas roads, 85 mph is the maximum limit.

The problem is even after faster speed limits are implemented, motorists – driven by the belief that they are saving time – continue to exceed it, experts add.

“Driving 70 instead of 65 saves a driver, at best, 6½ minutes on a 100-mile trip,” said Charles Farmer, IIHS vice president for research and statistical services. “Before raising speed limits, state lawmakers should consider whether that potential time savings is worth the additional risk to lives.”

There is no need to speed. Spring and summer are our annual reminders to slow down. As Douglas Horton, an American clergyman and academic leader so eloquently put it, “Drive slow and enjoy the scenery – drive fast and join the scenery.”