Study Finds Disconnect Between Motorist Attitudes towards Speeding, Actions

According to a new study, most American motorists find speeding to be extremely destructive driving behavior, and believe that speed limits must be obeyed as a matter of law. However, many of them do not bother to act on their beliefs. The same study finds that more than 25% of the respondents often speed to get to where they are going on time.

Approximately 95% of the motorists – an overwhelming majority – believe that speeding laws must be respected, and most of them also believe that limits should be observed. Most of the motorists in the survey,or at least four out of five, also admit that driving at safe speeds, is one of the easiest ways to avoid being involved in a car accident.

However, as the other side of the study shows, many motorists also do not seem to see anything wrong with breaking speed limits, especially when it is a matter of getting to a destination on time. In fact, the study also found that as many as 60% of the drivers saw nothing wrong in driving at high speeds, if it was an experienced or skilled driver behind the wheel. Younger and male drivers were much more likely to indulge in speeding, with approximately 11% involved in at least one accident caused by speeding over the past five years.

Speeding is the single biggest factor in accidents on American roads, and contributes to more traffic accident fatalities every year, than any other driving behavior. Speeding kills more people than drunk driving or using cell phones while driving. Yet, while you find any number of public initiatives to help reduce the incidence of the latter behaviors, you find few programs to help people understand that there are very real dangers involved in speeding.