Influence of question-phrasing and response-scale in speed estimation of witnessed accidents

The effect of question phrasing on speed estimation is assessed by means of two rating systems, a verbal rating scale (VRS) and a visual analogue scale (VAS). Subjects were asked to watch a short video depicting the scene of a car accident and then answer a short memory test concerning the video. The test contained the question, About how fast was the car going when the crash occurred? Other subjects received the word fender-bender or impact in place of the word crash . Subjects were asked to estimate speed using either a verbal rating or a visual analogue scale. Results indicated that using a visual analogue scale elicited a higher speed estimate than using a verbal rating measure. The highest speed estimate was given with the word crash and the visual analogue scale, p\u3c.05. No significant difference was found due to the phrasing of the question alone