Rose, Chae, Nandavar, Sonali, Hardie, Beth, Watson, Barry, and Watson, Angela (2022) Re-evaluating speeding behaviour among ACT drivers: An action theory approach. Report. Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety - Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

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Abstract

1.1 BACKGROUND Despite ongoing efforts to address the problem, speeding remains one of the leading contributing factors to crashes on Australian roads; accounting for approximately one-third of traffic fatalities annually. In acknowledgement of this, the 2021–2030 National Road Safety Strategy has advocated for the application of 'best practice' prevention strategies for the reduction of risky driving behaviours (such as speeding) to assist in accomplishing the goal of zero road fatalities by the year 2050. In the case of speeding, this involves turning to new, more modern ways of thinking about the behaviour. For example, hitherto, road safety research and policy has relied heavily on deterrence theory; a theory that is now quite out-dated and has produced inconsistent findings about behaviours, including speeding. Moreover, it is widely recognised that deterrence theory (1) overemphasises legal sanctions to the exclusion of other factors, and (2) provides little causal understanding of the behaviours (such as speeding) it aims to deter. However, without an adequate understanding as to what causes speeding, there can be no real and actionable strategy to prevent it. For as Wikström and Treiber state, "even if we could predict with 100 percent accuracy when a crime will happen, to effectively stop that crime from happening we need to know why it will happen" (2013, p. 328-329). As such, this project, funded by the ACT Road Safety Fund, aimed to provide a better understanding as to not only how and why people speed, but also when and for whom speeding countermeasures will have a deterrent effect by working within the framework of Situational Action Theory (SAT).

1.2 METHOD A total of 1,077 drivers (aged 18 to 89 years; 63.2% male) participated in an online survey incorporating a randomised scenario design. Participants were recruited online via email, social media, and snowball sampling. Ethical clearance for the study was approved by the QUT Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval No: 4199). A participant information sheet was provided to participants prior to taking part in the survey which detailed the requirements for involvement and the purpose of the research. To take part in the study, potential participants followed a link (accessed via a Facebook advertisement) to the online survey, hosted on the survey platform Qualtrics® (Qualtrics, Provo, UT). Participants were then screened via the following selection criteria: i) aged 18 years and older; (ii) reside in the ACT; and (iii) had driven a car within the 3 months prior to participating in the survey. Once the selection criteria had been met, participants began the survey which took approximately 20-30 minutes to complete (see Appendix A). Approximately midway through the survey, participants were randomly assigned (via Qualtrics randomisation command) to one of the four scenario conditions depicting situations where people are more likely to speed. Upon completion of the survey, participants were offered the opportunity to enter a prize draw to win one of ten $100 AUD e-vouchers.

1.3 FINDINGS First, it was demonstrated that drivers with weak speed-relevant moral rules and emotions not only reported engaging in significantly more acts of past speeding than drivers holding moderate or strong moral rules and emotions, but they also reported greater intentions to speed in response to the scenarios than their more moral counterparts. Second, it was demonstrated that drivers exposed to a criminogenic RE-EVALUATING SPEEDING BEHAVIOUR AMONG ACT DRIVERS – FINAL REPORT PAGE ii setting (that is, settings conducive for speeding) engaged in significantly more acts of speeding than other drivers, and moreover, this effect of exposure to a criminogenic setting was stronger for drivers holding weaker speed-relevant moralities. Lastly, the apparent deterrent effect of speeding enforcement on speeding was stronger for drivers with weaker personal speed-relevant moralities. Indeed, for drivers holding stronger speed-relevant moral rules and emotions, the effect of deterrence was irrelevant.

1.4 IMPLICATIONS The findings of this study provide strong support for the application of SAT to better understand speeding. Specifically, this study revealed that drivers holding weak speed-relevant moral rules and emotions not only report engaging in more instances of speeding but are also more susceptible to criminogenic settings. Moreover, this study demonstrated that a driver’s susceptibility to deterrence depends on their personal speed-relevant morality, whereby stronger morality renders the deterrent effect of speeding countermeasures irrelevant. In other words, people who strongly believe that speeding is wrong, do not appear to be influenced by the threat of detection and punishment for speeding. Rather, it is those who don't think speeding is wrong who are susceptible to the threat of detection and punishment. Such findings indicate that developing/implementing strategies aimed at increasing the speed-relevant morality of drivers will greatly assist in reducing the prevalence of speeding in the ACT (potential strategies of which are identified in this report).

Item ID:	85592
Item Type:	Report (Report)
Funders:	ACT Government
Date Deposited:	15 Jul 2025 02:12
FoR Codes:	52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5205 Social and personality psychology > 520505 Social psychology @ 25% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4206 Public health > 420604 Injury prevention @ 25% 44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4402 Criminology > 440201 Causes and prevention of crime @ 50%
SEO Codes:	27 TRANSPORT > 2703 Ground transport > 270311 Road safety @ 50% 23 LAW, POLITICS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES > 2304 Justice and the law > 230402 Crime prevention @ 30% 20 HEALTH > 2004 Public health (excl. specific population health) > 200408 Injury prevention and control @ 20%
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