There have been many reports of motorists using the lack of traffic on the roads during the Covid19 lockdown to flout the speed limits and now with more traffic back on the roads there is a danger that some may continue to drive at excessive speeds even after things are back to ‘normal’.
Behavioural Science in transportation (understanding the behaviour and motivations of transport users such as motorists and rail commuters etc) is a fascinating subject which plays a big part in the engineering and design of roads and their ‘furniture’ in an attempt to gently persuade drivers to modify their driving behaviour to something more appropriate.
There are many such psychological tactics in place to combat speeding but could we be doing more? What other engineering solutions could be implemented to stop excessive speeding? How do different countries tackle speeding on their roads? What could we learn from them?
I'm hopeful that Intelligent Speed Advice/Adaptation (ISA), which is a (partial) technological approach will be useful. This will become mandatory on new vehicles from 2022. It uses mapping and/or cameras to ascertain the current speed limit and then adjusts the vehicle speed automatically. Although it can be overriden, it should provide a good hint to drivers. "All" we need is ~15% of vehicles to be speed limited to have a pronounced effect on overall speed in many circumstances.
Nevertheless, technological fixes are not the full answer - they will mostly help drivers who are generally compliant. What we need is a better understanding of what makes non-compliant drivers tick. We'll be organising, next year through the IET, a seminar on behavioual issues in transport. Our previous seminar has highlighted both the complexity and potential of behavioural understanding in tackling road safety issues.
I'm hopeful that Intelligent Speed Advice/Adaptation (ISA), which is a (partial) technological approach will be useful. This will become mandatory on new vehicles from 2022. It uses mapping and/or cameras to ascertain the current speed limit and then adjusts the vehicle speed automatically. Although it can be overriden, it should provide a good hint to drivers. "All" we need is ~15% of vehicles to be speed limited to have a pronounced effect on overall speed in many circumstances.
Nevertheless, technological fixes are not the full answer - they will mostly help drivers who are generally compliant. What we need is a better understanding of what makes non-compliant drivers tick. We'll be organising, next year through the IET, a seminar on behavioual issues in transport. Our previous seminar has highlighted both the complexity and potential of behavioural understanding in tackling road safety issues.
