Canadian drivers seem to agree that speeding is a dangerous action. It increases the possibility of collision, injury and death on our highways. However, most drivers have a fairly elastic view of how the speed limits apply to themselves with the majority (7 in 10) reporting that they occasionally exceed the speed limit. Regardless, there is significant public support for anti-speeding measures.
Transport Canada has published Driver Attitude to Speeding and Speed Management: A Quantitative and Qualitative Study that was completed by EKOS Research Associates in November, 2007.
The study examined the following issues:
- overall perceptions of road safety;
- extent to which speeding is perceived as a problem (e.g., as a cause of serious accidents);
- extent to which drivers speed;
- circumstances and reasons for speeding;
- knowledge and awareness of the potential impacts of speeding (e.g., health, economic/financial, environmental);
- reaction to and support for potential measures to reduce speeding; and communications (e.g., messaging, medium, target audiences).
Overall findings reveal that Canadians view speeding as dangerous, and they associate it with increased risk of collision, injury and death. Economic impacts (e.g., increased fuel consumption) are also apparent to most, while potential environmental consequences are both more difficult to grasp and seen as less significant.
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