Quantitative study of attitudes, motivations and beliefs related to speeding and speed enforcement

Speeding continues to be a significant issue in New South Wales (NSW) and preliminary data from 2009 indicates that it may be contributing to an increase in the road toll this year. Speed surveys conducted annually by the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority also show that despite overall reductions in travel speeds across NSW, a large proportion of drivers continue to speed. A quantitative telephone survey of 1,500 NSW drivers examined a range of speeding issues including circumstances under which drivers most commonly speed, the social acceptability of speeding, motivators for speeding, enforcement methods and the acceptability of speeding in different contexts, for example school zones. The results indicate that despite understanding that speeding is the main contributor to the road toll, speeding is common and is not yet seen as socially unacceptable by many NSW drivers. The study also found high approval for speed enforcement and an understanding and agreement with how speed limits are currently set. The key modifiers of drivers speeding behaviour were found to be enforcement and when driving with family in the car.