Originally Posted by NYTimes

When it comes to speeding, many American motorists don’t worry about safety. They just worry about getting caught.

Those are the findings by researchers from Purdue University who surveyed nearly 1,000 motorists about speed limits and driving habits. They found that many drivers are cynical about the safety benefits of driving within speed limits, and many think they can drive safely while speeding as long as they won’t get caught, according to the report in Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour.

“So the faster you think you can go before getting a ticket, the more likely you are to think safety’s not compromised at higher speeds,” said Fred Mannering, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue, in a press release. “For whatever reason, respect for speed limits seems to have deteriorated.”

Dr. Mannering used a series of mathematical equations to calculate the probability of speeding, based on data from a survey of 988 motorists in Tippecanoe County, Ind. The survey findings were consistent with other research that has shown two-thirds of all drivers regularly exceed posted speed limits, and roughly one-third report driving at least 10 m.p.h. faster than most other vehicles.

The latest research asked participants: “At what point do you feel speeding becomes a threat to the personal safety of you and your family?” The motorists were given three choices: 5 m.p.h., 10 m.p.h. or 20 m.p.h. over the speed limit.

The survey was taken before and after a 2004 media campaign launched in the county stressing the dangers of speeding that included radio and newspaper messages.

More than a third of the drivers in the survey thought it was safe to drive 20 m.p.h. over the speed limit. Overall, the vast majority of respondents said they thought it was safe to speed, with 79 percent saying it was safe to exceed the limit by 10 m.p.h. or more.

The research showed the media campaign relating to the dangers of speeding had no statistically significant impact on drivers’ views on speeding and safety. For most drivers, a “safe” speed is typically just beyond the point where they believe they are at risk for getting a ticket. That means that motorists who believe they won’t get a ticket until they go 10 m.p.h. above the speed limit are 27 percent more likely to drive up to 20 m.p.h. above the speed limit.

Notably, getting stopped for speeding didn’t seem to have an effect on whether or not a person speeds again. Both men and women drivers who had been stopped for speeding in the last year were 25 percent more likely to believe that it is safe to drive up to 20 m.p.h. faster than the speed limit, compared to those who hadn’t been ticketed.

“This is probably because people who habitually speed are not significantly deterred by being stopped for speeding,” Dr. Mannering said. “They might become slightly more conservative, but it doesn’t slow them down to the level of people who are inherently more conservative.”

To learn more about Dr. Manning’s research, read “Yes, Accidents Happen. But Why?,” published in The Times last year.

Originally Posted by Dchiefransom

The first sentence supports the way I've responded when others state that the person that hit and injured or killed someone has to live with the guilt. Most have no guilt beyond getting in trouble.

Originally Posted by DonQuixote1954

People in Australia got everything upside down.

Originally Posted by DonQuixote1954

This guy from DownUnder never figures out right from wrong.

Either he's a Republican or he's from Australia.

Originally Posted by SeattleShaun

By the principals of our democracy, the law should be changed. After all, democracy gives us the right to make stupid decisions.

Do you ever consider the rights of other people not to be hit by chuckleheaded drivers?

Just Curious...

Originally Posted by SeattleShaun

By the principals of our democracy, the law should be changed. After all, democracy gives us the right to make stupid decisions.

Do you ever consider the rights of other people not to be hit by chuckleheaded drivers?

Just Curious...

Originally Posted by SeattleShaun

Personally, I don't really care if one wishes to roll the dice with Darwin for him/herself. I do care when the person rolling the dice endangers others - including myself, my family, and those I cae about.

Originally Posted by pacificaslim

... to exit the freeway for example, we should do so by travelling faster than the cars to our right, and then merging in in front of them. Never take our foot off the gas and slow down and try to merge in behind the cars to our right. Because that will require the people behind us in our lane to hit their brakes to avoid hitting us. Not only is this precisely what causes ripples that lead to traffic jams, it is terribly dangerous ...

Originally Posted by pacificaslim

Well, if you don't feel it's a safe place to be, then take the initiative and stay off the road. That will work out a lot better for you than attempting to get everyone else to slow down to a speed you find comfortable.

There are a few things we can do to make things safer on the roadway. One is to always stay to the right unless passing. And then when we do pull into the next lane to the left to pass, we make sure the speed we are travelling is at least as fast as the car coming up behind us in that lane. No, it is not enough that we are going faster than the car we are passing: we must go faster than the cars in the lane we wish to enter, or we have no business entering it.

Same technique should be practiced when entering the freeway. We should never rely on any other driver having to slow down to avoid hitting us. We must match or exceed their speed if we want to be in front of them.

Another one is to treat lane changes as forward movements, not sideways or backwards movements. If we want to get over a lane or two to the right to exit the freeway for example, we should do so by travelling faster than the cars to our right, and then merging in in front of them. Never take our foot off the gas and slow down and try to merge in behind the cars to our right. Because that will require the people behind us in our lane to hit their brakes to avoid hitting us. Not only is this precisely what causes ripples that lead to traffic jams, it is terribly dangerous.




Not likely. Sorry. But if you follow the tips above, we will never come into contact with each other.

Originally Posted by pacificaslim

Well, if you don't feel it's a safe place to be, then take the initiative and stay off the road. That will work out a lot better for you than attempting to get everyone else to slow down to a speed you find comfortable.

There are a few things we can do to make things safer on the roadway. One is to always stay to the right unless passing. And then when we do pull into the next lane to the left to pass, we make sure the speed we are travelling is at least as fast as the car coming up behind us in that lane. No, it is not enough that we are going faster than the car we are passing: we must go faster than the cars in the lane we wish to enter, or we have no business entering it.

Same technique should be practiced when entering the freeway. We should never rely on any other driver having to slow down to avoid hitting us. We must match or exceed their speed if we want to be in front of them.

Another one is to treat lane changes as forward movements, not sideways or backwards movements. If we want to get over a lane or two to the right to exit the freeway for example, we should do so by travelling faster than the cars to our right, and then merging in in front of them. Never take our foot off the gas and slow down and try to merge in behind the cars to our right. Because that will require the people behind us in our lane to hit their brakes to avoid hitting us. Not only is this precisely what causes ripples that lead to traffic jams, it is terribly dangerous.