The influence of drivers' attitudes and vehicle characteristics on speed choice on highways and its safety consequences

The influence of drivers| attitude and vehicle characteristics on speed choice on highways was studied by means of radar and licence plate observations and a questionnaire survey. Four motivational factors could be identified concerning |pleasure of driving|; |risk|; |travel costs| and |travel time|. These four factors satisfactorily predict speed choice on highways. Vehicle characteristics (i.e. top speed) do correlate with registered speed, but do not add to the prediction of speed choice over the identified motivational factors. Differences in the pleasure perceived while speeding were found to depend on the car|s performance, but the perception of risk from speeding did not differ between car performance levels. These results do not support the risk homeostasis theory, and lead to the suggestion that more attention has to be devoted to the positive aspects, rather than the risks involved in speeding behaviour. Differences in speed choice cannot be attributed to differences in vehicle characteristics, without taking into account the identified motivational factors