An opinion survey on road side speed control devices

Vehicle speeds have been identified as a contributory factor to the severity of road traffic crashes. Considering that car manufacturers are consistently portraying speed as a key performance feature or a higher standard of sporting performance, it is important to establish the true worth of speed to drivers and how vehicle speeds can be managed effectively if road crash deaths are to be reduced. This paper presents the findings of an online questionnaire conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) to ascertain the opinion about six selected roadside speed control devices. These speed control devices comprised two main categories; punitive (example; speed camera) and non-punitive (example; lBend Aheadr flashing sign) devices. In total 502 respondents were obtained from drivers and/or motorcyclists, 52 percent of whom were male. There were 76.1 percent of drivers who had more than ten years of driving experience and 32.9 percent who had never had a crash as a driver. The results indicate that drivers are knowledgeable about the purpose of the speed control devices. More people indicated that speed cameras had an influence on their driving speed than the vehicle activated signs which is understandable considering that speed cameras have punitive consequences. In general, respondents expressed positive views about the speed control devices. Other findings about the speed control devices are presented in this paper.