ANN ARBOR, MI
A new study of driver speeding suggests the importance of driving conditions in predicting a driver’s likelihood of speeding. CSRC researchers and collaborators at Touchstone Evaluations, Inc., found that the portion of the trip spent idling, rather than the driver’s individual speeding attitudes, was more predictive of speeding onset. Further, 82% of sample drivers fell into categories for which driving context was the key factor predicting their speeding. CSRC published these latest research findings in Accident, Analysis and Prevention, a premiere scientific traffic safety journal. Addressing speeding is one of five key objectives in the US Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy.
These results came from surveys and real-world driving data from 3,798 trips from 44 drivers each observed over a 3-week period. Overall, drivers were speeding 7.8% of the time, defined as driving more than five mph over the speed limit for at least five seconds. Out of 188 driving and behavioral variables studied, nine were statistically significant predictors of driver speeding, including previous time spent idling and speeding, highway driving in low traffic, and individual attitudes about speeding and phone use. Researchers further were able to categorize drivers into four types: Traffic & Idling Speeders, Infrequent Speeders, Frequent Speeders, and Situational Speeders.
CSRC strives for its research to help enhance traffic safety in the US and worldwide. These findings highlight the benefits of targeted interventions that address the specific causes of speeding. By tailoring educational and behavioral countermeasures to situational factors as well as individual driver profiles, more effective strategies to help reduce speeding may be possible which support and collaborate with the driver.
Click HERE to read the full research paper.