Drivers’ Self-Reported Reasons of Speeding: A Turkish Driver Sample from Two Cities

Abstract

Speeding is an important risk factor of road traffic crashes, and identifying the factors associated with speeding is crucial for road safety. In the present study, face-to-face roadside interviews were conducted to investigate the reasons of speeding among Turkish drivers at six different data collection times in two different cities. A structured interview was administered to collect data from a total of 3317 and 1559 drivers in Ankara and Afyon cities, respectively. Results from the two cities consistently revealed that drivers’ self-reported speeding frequency was partially determined by gender and age. Also, perceiving speeding as a cause of crashes was associated with lower frequency of speeding. Finally, thinking that speed tickets are a means for increasing government income and that it would be safe to exceed the speed limit if driving “safely” was positively associated with frequency of speeding. These findings indicate the importance of norms and (biased) perceptions in speeding behavior.