Speeding and Joy Riding

Crime Prevention and Community Safety: An International Journal, 2002

This paper argues that some harms or crimes -and car crime and motoring offences are taken as examples here -are sources of ambivalence. Policing and public policy is often ambivalent as is media commentary on it. Moreover campaigning groups on both sides contest the right to be known as victims. It is argued that discussions of gender, economics and consciousness would assist stepping far enough back to see what has been so close and about which even criminologists are ambivalent. Whilst car, traffic and parking offences are seen to be mundane and trivial they offer the chance to reconsider criminology, including the new criminology of the information superhighway.

Transactions on Transport Sciences

The aim of this study was to increase our understanding of what motivates young people to take risks in traffic but also why young men are more likely to get involved in road crashes. The participants aged 16-19 years (N=945) completed an online survey. The questions were influenced by the Theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the Prototype willingness model (PWM) and included a scenario describing a person riding a moped at 65 km/h in an urban area, in which the speed limit was 50 km/h. The results, using a regression analysis, showed that a model which explained their willingness to speed was slightly better than a model explaining their intention. The best predictor, according to the beta weights in both models, was that it was "fun". However, this variable was more important in explaining their willingness than their intention. Other similar factors describing emotions with immediate rewards were also significantly more important in the prediction of willingness than intention. When analysing the willingness to speed amongst young men and women, the results presented both similar and different results. Both were heavily influenced by a belief that it would be "fun". However, only young men also believed that it would impress others and that it would make them popular. Young women on the other hand did not believe that the behaviour was particularly boylike which could explain why they could identify with a person who sped. The conclusion, from this study, is that speeding can be described as a reactive behaviour, but it could not be ruled out that it also can be planned. Based on the results from this study it is concluded that TPB would benefit from the inclusion of PWM variables.

European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Context, 4(1), 79-98, 2012

It is hypothesized that in a given situation speeding behaviour is determined by three subjective speed assessments: the speed perceived as the riskiest, the speed perceived as the safest, and the speed perceived as the most pleasurable. Specifically, if these assessments are high, drivers are expected to circulate faster. Such speed perceptions are also viewed as influenced by attitudes towards speed and speed limits. 177 car drivers, included 102 men and 75 women between 18 and 72 years (M = 43, SD = 21) and with a mean driving experience of 22 years (SD = 19), answered to a questionnaire about their attitudes towards speed and speed limits, the speeds they considered as the riskiest, the safest, and the most pleasurable in three different contexts, as well as their usual speed. Data analyses (ANOVA and path analyses) confirmed the influence of the three types of speed assessment on the usual speed and that the influence of attitudes on this behaviour is mediated by these three assessments. Results suggest that not only a change in attitudes and beliefs is desirable, but a concrete specification (e.g., 100 Km/h) of speeds perceived as safe, pleasurable and risky is also needed in order to reduce speeding behaviour.

2004

Illegal street racing is receiving increased media attention but there is little research in Australia and New Zealand to guide creative responses to this socially problematic behaviour. The paper investigates the relationship between interest in motor sport, illegal street racing and other risky driving behaviours amongst a sample of young male drivers in Christchurch. The measured variables included a driving violations scale, attitudes to speeding, sensation seeking propensity, level of interest in motor sport and participation in illegal street racing. The results indicate that experience with motor sport was a significant factor in the explanation of both risky driving behaviour and the level of involvement in illegal street racing, taking into account the influence of sensation seeking. However, the way in which motor sport was linked with risky driving was different from the way it was linked with illegal street racing. Motor sport had a more direct influence on street racing...

2007

he relationship between young people and car culture is a complex one and forms an interesting facet of contemporary society. Recent media reports in most states and territories have once again highlighted the harms associated with cars and, in particular, the dangers of young people driving cars Fuller 2007a). Much of the public debate over youth driving culture has been framed around concepts of youthful deviance, youthful incompetence and, frequently, a conflation of the two. It appears that the problem of "accidents" involving young persons is basically a problem stemming from the actions of the young people themselves. Moreover, if one believes the media commentary, it is young people in general who constitute the problem, almost as if youthfulness itself is a liability. Blame tends to be attributed to young people in ways that downplay both specific factors linked to fatal accidents involving young people, as well as the broader sociological processes linked to car culture generally. Young people (18-25) are disproportionately overrepresented in fatal crash statistics (Transport Accident Commission 2007), but contextual distinctions need to be made between conceptions of dangerousness and certain driving behaviour, and other significant contributing factors.

Youth Studies Australia, 2007

he relationship between young people and car culture is a complex one and forms an interesting facet of contemporary society. Recent media reports in most states and territories have once again highlighted the harms associated with cars and, in particular, the dangers of young people driving cars Fuller 2007a). Much of the public debate over youth driving culture has been framed around concepts of youthful deviance, youthful incompetence and, frequently, a conflation of the two. It appears that the problem of "accidents" involving young persons is basically a problem stemming from the actions of the young people themselves. Moreover, if one believes the media commentary, it is young people in general who constitute the problem, almost as if youthfulness itself is a liability. Blame tends to be attributed to young people in ways that downplay both specific factors linked to fatal accidents involving young people, as well as the broader sociological processes linked to car culture generally. Young people (18-25) are disproportionately overrepresented in fatal crash statistics (Transport Accident Commission 2007), but contextual distinctions need to be made between conceptions of dangerousness and certain driving behaviour, and other significant contributing factors.

Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Trabalho

GLOBAL 195 Member and Associate Member States 178 (176 Member and Associate Member States, 2 non-member areas) (42 HIC, 91 MIC, 45 LIC) 19 (accounting for 1.7% of population of the 195 Member and Associate Member States) HIC = high-income countries; MIC = middle-income countries; LIC = low-income countries a See Table A.2 in Statistical Annex for information on WHO regions and income level classifications. b Includes one Associate Member State, Puerto Rico. c Includes one non-member area, the British Virgin Islands. d Includes one non-member area, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. e Includes one Associate Member State, Tokelau. PHOTO BOTTOM Police enforcement and automatic speed enforcement are highly effective measures used to enforce speed limits. GLOBAL STATUS REPORT ON ROAD SAFETY Box 2: Land use and transport planning needs of vulnerable road users in planning for land use and transport. Bogota's high-capacity bus system. Cable barriers are used in a number of high-income countries and have been shown to be cost effective at reducing head-on collisions on highways. Designed spaces for street vendors in Delhi, India, are part of a new initiative that gives road space to different groups of vulnerable road users. What this survey found Research on effective speed management indicates that the speed limits on urban While there remains a fairly high fatality road safety records have adopted this authority to reduce these national speed countries report their enforcement of speed limits as over 7 on a scale 18 GLOBAL STATUS REPORT ON ROAD SAFETY Box 3: A coordinated approach to road safety The World report on road traffic injury prevention World report also recommends that each country should prepare a multisectoral national road safety allocated to ensure implementation of relevant activities. difficulty that they had during the consensus meetings in identifying the lead agency for road safety in their country. countries have urban speed limits authorities to reduce them further. reducing road traffic injuries can be made and implemented at the subnational level the results of this survey the criteria used for assessing urban speed management speed limits on urban roads are set The results suggest that urban speed management is poor in many countries. local authorities to reduce national speed of participating countries meet both reduce the national speed limits. Figure that in most countries additional efforts to reduce urban speed limits are still needed. the enforcement of their national speed WHAT CAN BE DONE 4 Countries need to set speed limits that reflect the function of individual roads. In doing so, they should consider the types of vehicles using the road, the nature and purpose of the road, roadside activities, provision of facilities for vulnerable road users, and the frequency of use by pedestrians and cyclists. Increased priority should be given to vulnerable road users, notably in urban areas, where speed limits should not exceed 50 km/h. 4 Local authorities need to be given the authority, resources and political support to implement measures to reduce speed limits to levels that may be lower than national limits where vulnerable road users are particularly at risk. 4 Programmes put into place to address speeding need to foster a public awareness and understanding of the effects of speeding and the reasons for enforcing speed limits. >90 km/h (2%) <50 km/h (62%) 51-70 km/h (29%) 71-90 km/h (6%)

Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2017

The purpose of this study is to propose an extended model of planned behaviour (TPB) to understand better the link between motorcyclists' type of vehicle and their intention to exceed the speed limit on a 90 km/h road. 257 riders of sport and touring vehicles answered a questionnaire put on line on the web site of a national organization. In line with our hypothesis, findings show that taking into account the different categories of motorcyclists is highly relevant; attitude and group norm appear for each category of motorcyclists. Concerning the sport riders, except attitude and group norms, de-restriction explains the intention to exceed the speed limit. For touring riders, except attitude and group norm, sensation seeking appears to be a predictive factor that is distinctive from the other categories. This study highlights the necessity to focus on motorcyclists according to the type of vehicles they ride rather than considering motorcyclists as a homogeneous population. The predictive factors of exceeding the speed limit are different from one type of motorcyclist to another. Studies examining the predictive factors of risky habits usually consider a single category of motorcyclists only; in contrast, our investigation distinguished between different categories of motorcyclists, and our results invite concerned parties to adapt their awareness-raising actions to the characteristic features of these categories.