Selecting anti-speeding messages for roadside application

Low-range, mid-range and high-range speeding: The association with speeding habits, perceived legitimacy and deterrence

INTRODUCTION

Speeding is a global road safety concern contributing to an excessive number of fatal crashes and serious debilitating injuries. Research identifying amendable factors associated with speeding to inform interventions is critical.

METHOD

This study examined the association of habit, perceived legitimacy of enforcement, and deterrence elements with three levels of speeding behavior; low- (<10 km/hr over the posted speed limit), mid- (10-20 km/hr), and high-range (>20 km/hr) speeding. An online survey of 870 participants aged over 17 years (M = 37 years) was administered.

RESULTS

Approximately 80% of participants reported low-range speeding, 40% mid-range speeding, and 20% high-range speeding. Differences were found between speeding on urban and open roads with the proportion of participants greater for mid- and high-range speeding on open roads. Multiple linear regressions were run finding habit and deterrence variables to be significant predictors of all three levels of speeding. Perceived legitimacy of enforcement was a significant predictor of high-range speeding only.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

These findings suggest countermeasures that encourage good speed-related habits would be promising. It is also concluded that additional deterrence measures that reduce punishment avoidance experiences (e.g., better detection of speeding behaviors) are needed to further curb speeding behaviors. Nevertheless, the current punishment for all levels of speeding is perceived to be an effective deterrent. These recommendations inform policy, training and education, and campaigns that target engagement in speeding.

Rank-ordering anti-speeding messages

PURPOSE

Further explore the utility of protection motivation theory (PMT) in developing effective roadside anti-speeding messages.

METHOD

Via an electronic link, 81 participants holding a current Australian driver's license rated all possible pairs of 18 PMT-derived anti-speeding messages in terms of their perceived effectiveness in reducing speed for themselves, and for drivers in general.

RESULTS

While some messages revealed third-person effects (perceived as being more relevant to drivers-in-general than to self-as-driver), others showed reverse third-person effects (perceived as being more relevant to self-as-driver than to drivers-in-general). Compared with messages based on coping appraisal components, those derived from threat appraisal PMT components (perceived severity, counter-rewards, vulnerability) were rated as being more effective, both for participants themselves as driver, and for drivers-in-general. Compared with females, males reported threat appraisal messages as being more effective for reducing speed in themselves (reverse third-person effect). Aggregate scores for the 18 messages derived from this ipsative methodology correlated modestly with those from a normative study using similarly-worded items.

DISCUSSION

As jurisdictions globally recognize speeding as a major road safety issue, effective anti-speeding campaigns are essential. Findings added to current knowledge of PMT's efficacy as a basis for generating effective anti-speeding messages and indicated areas for future research and application.

Effects of Different Intervention Methods on Novice Drivers’ Speeding

The objective of this work is to examine the human response to different interventions to determine its direct intervention effect and education effect on the speeding of novice drivers. Several experiments, in which participants received different interventions when they were speeding, were conducted on the simulating driving system. The direct intervention effect of different intervention methods was measured by speed reduction and the education effect of voice intervention was measured by questionnaires. A total of 60 novice drivers and 20 experienced drivers were involved in this study, and the personality, gender and driving experience were considered in the analysis. We found that the steer wheel vibration has a significant influence on the intervention effect, but the lighting does not. The driving experience has more impact on the intervention effect of voice intervention with the Rational Style. While gender mainly influences the intervention effect of Emotional Style. The education effect of voice intervention designed with Emotional Style performs better than Rational Style. The personality from Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) does not have a significant influence on the intervention effect. At last, a new driving style variable which can be calculated automatically from driving data was designed and the novel intervention strategy was proposed according to the research results. Our research provides a novel intervention strategy for drivers’ speeding behavior and gives an underlying insight into urban traffic safety, which is beneficial to ensure the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of the transportation system. It also serves as a reference for traffic safety research management agencies, the government, and the produced smart vehicles companies, providing guidance not limited to speeding intervention and aimed at improving other unsafe driving behavior.