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Study Finds Strict Speed Enforcement Is Bad For Road Safety, We Knew All Along

Scientists from the University of Western Australia have conducted a study that found something which most drivers have known all along.
A traffic speed sensor in Denmark. Din fart means "Your speed". 1 photo
Photo: Tomasz G. Sienicki/Wikipedia user Tsca
Making people stick to enforced speed limits will not make driving safer on a road segment, but it might bring more accidents and turn into a cash cow for authorities. We are not referring to blatant speeders that drive way above the limit, but to the average Joes of the world that get fined for those two miles per hour (3,2 km/h) above the limit.

Those of you that have gotten a penalty for driving just above the limit, without any intention of speeding, understand the frustration that is brought to a driver in this situation.

Researchers have found that drivers tend to focus more on sticking to the speed limit in a designated area if they know that they are risking a penalty for even the smallest offense on the speed limit.

From a group of 84 people, researchers told drivers some volunteers that a penalty could be applied if they drove over one km/h over the limit. Another part of the group was announced that fines begin at six km/h over the limit, and the rest were told they would be fined if they drive with more than 11 km/h over the 50 km/h (30 mph) speed limit.

Their reaction times were measured using a test that involved red dots, which had to bring a response from the driver whenever the dots were lit.

The best reactions were from those who were quickest to press a dedicated button, while the worst reactions involved not observing the red dots as they were lit. The drivers that had to handle the smallest leeway (fines that begun at 1 km/h over the limit) were the least attentive to potential road hazards.

The makers of the study noted that the authorities often believe that making people drive within strict speed limits will make everyone slower and safer, but this low-volume study showed the opposite, because humans do not “work” that way.

Some believe that the answer is using a threshold but publicly announcing it is not always a bright idea, because drivers would tend to take advantage of it and drive slightly faster than the limit allows. Pressing the gas pedal an extra millimeter will get the driver fined for going just above the accepted inaccuracy, which will result in another frustrating penalty.

According to Australia’s ABC.net, police officers work with a little leeway above the speed limit in Western Australia, but it is not officially disclosed. If the value is calculated in a fair manner, most drivers will not get fined, but things get financial if common sense or attention are not used.

Most European countries apply a similar solution. Unfortunately, some people get the wrong ideas and try to “game” the system, while others get scared whenever seeing police cars on the road and cause a strain of brake lights even if they were driving the speed limit.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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