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?
My experience is essentially in two countries: France and Czechia.
In France, it's very easy to lose your licence (Brits too!). On the spot with a "visible" manned speed check, 30kph over and you need to walk home. Everyone knows the rules. +5kph up to 100 then 5+0.5/10kph. That means a maximum of 136kph on the autoroute where cameras can be visible or hidden.
Then there are the privatised speed checks with unmarked cars and equipment hidden behind the licence plate. You don't even know you've been flashed until you receive the letter. French police can "work in twos" for a hand held phone, particularly in towns. One (in civvies) does the spotting and radios to the other (in uniform) to do the stopping.
In Czechia, cameras are very much smaller than in France and, on motorways, most police cars are unmarked. They will switch on their blue lights and guide you to the next exit if you're naughty. On motorways 130kph means 130kph. During the lockdown, roads were empty. One evening a police spokesman declared on TV that receipts from speeding fines were at an all time high because people took advantage of the empty roads. Almost all Czech villages have at least two radars which can have cameras or not. To find out you have to get close and it's too late to slow down. In villages I drive at strictly 50kph and nobody has ever flashed their headlights at me to "get a move on". Overtaking in villages is prohibited. I drive on a French licence which has no "eat by date". If I lose just one point I have to change it for a Czech licence which means a frequent medical.
To travel between these countries, I drive through Germany. Germans can be very imaginative in disguising radars. Driving at high speed (180-220kph) needs to be learned but at least the Germans do learn this, not like the youngsters in other countries where there are lower speed limits and no learning situation. Germans (and the Dutch) often install radars near schools where the limit is 30kph. Sounds good to me.
My experience is essentially in two countries: France and Czechia.
In France, it's very easy to lose your licence (Brits too!). On the spot with a "visible" manned speed check, 30kph over and you need to walk home. Everyone knows the rules. +5kph up to 100 then 5+0.5/10kph. That means a maximum of 136kph on the autoroute where cameras can be visible or hidden.
Then there are the privatised speed checks with unmarked cars and equipment hidden behind the licence plate. You don't even know you've been flashed until you receive the letter. French police can "work in twos" for a hand held phone, particularly in towns. One (in civvies) does the spotting and radios to the other (in uniform) to do the stopping.
In Czechia, cameras are very much smaller than in France and, on motorways, most police cars are unmarked. They will switch on their blue lights and guide you to the next exit if you're naughty. On motorways 130kph means 130kph. During the lockdown, roads were empty. One evening a police spokesman declared on TV that receipts from speeding fines were at an all time high because people took advantage of the empty roads. Almost all Czech villages have at least two radars which can have cameras or not. To find out you have to get close and it's too late to slow down. In villages I drive at strictly 50kph and nobody has ever flashed their headlights at me to "get a move on". Overtaking in villages is prohibited. I drive on a French licence which has no "eat by date". If I lose just one point I have to change it for a Czech licence which means a frequent medical.
To travel between these countries, I drive through Germany. Germans can be very imaginative in disguising radars. Driving at high speed (180-220kph) needs to be learned but at least the Germans do learn this, not like the youngsters in other countries where there are lower speed limits and no learning situation. Germans (and the Dutch) often install radars near schools where the limit is 30kph. Sounds good to me.
