New Zealand Drivers' Perceptions of the Costs and Benefits of Speeding: Comparison to Canadian Data

Inappropriate speed and speeding are serious road safety concerns worldwide. Although the percentage of ‘free-running’ New Zealand drivers travelling above the speed limit has dropped over the last decade, speeding remains one of the most common contributors to accident involvement, with the total social cost estimated at $675 million NZD ($580 million CAD). Previous research has found that some drivers underestimate the safety risk and fuel costs of speeding. Many drivers tend to overestimate the amount of time that will be saved if they adopt faster speeds. Interestingly, compared to drivers who realistically estimate the consequences of speed, drivers who misjudge the time savings from increasing vehicle speed are more likely to engage in speeding themselves. Speeding that results because drivers believe that the benefits of speeding outweigh any costs and risks is the focus of this research. Driver education programs that target this type of speeding by communicating realistic information on the risks and benefits of speeding may decrease this kind of intentional speeding behaviour. The present survey study investigated 850 New Zealand drivers’ perceptions and understanding of the costs and benefits of speeding, and compared the results to similar Canadian survey data, in order to analyze and contrast similarities and differences with a view to making practical and realistic recommendations regarding appropriate educational opportunities. Although the two study samples shared a broad understanding of perceived advantages and disadvantages of speeding, there were some differences that could be used to target more effective educational and speeding countermeasures. For instance, New Zealand drivers were more likely than Canadians to view penalties like speeding tickets as a main disadvantage of speeding, and so speeding countermeasures that focus on penalties may have more influence in New Zealand compared to Canada. On the other hand, improved enforcement of speed limits in Canada through – for example – the use of automated speed cameras might influence Canadian drivers to view the risk of penalties as a more likely negative consequence of speeding. Finally, cluster analysis revealed that driver speeding “types” identified in the New Zealand data are comparable to those identified in Canada. These clusters could be used to fine-tune educational opportunities to a given region or population, especially in instances where the demographics or characteristics of a given target population are known.