The Australian community continues to identify speed as the single most likely cause of road crashes. When asked to nominate the main factor that leads to road crashes, 37% say speed, almost three times the number that say driver fatigue (13%) or drink driving (12%). When asked to name three crash factors, over half the community include speed (59%) and drink driving (52%) in their list, and one in three include driver fatigue (33%).
This survey reveals a growing awareness of the dangers of speeding and increasing evidence of a shift in attitudes across a range of speed-related behaviours. The community appears to be moving towards a more responsible attitude to speed, and there is a decline in the level of extreme attitudes to speed, across a range of areas.
Nine out of ten licence holders recognise that increasing speed greatly increases crash severity, agreeing that An accident at 70 km/h will be a lot more severe than an accident at 60km/h (90%). Two out of three (67%) are aware of the link between speed and crash involvement, agreeing that A 10 km/h increase in driving speed significantly increases the risk of being involved in a crash.
There is a growing trend in acceptance of initiatives to protect the community from the dangers of speed. Support for a 50 km/h limit in residential areas continues to increase (73%) and close to half (49%) of the community support zero speed tolerance (i.e. strict enforcement of the 60km/h speed limit) in urban streets.
It is also widely accepted (88%) that speed limits are generally set at reasonable levels. However, one in three (33%) still consider it reasonable to speed, agreeing with the statement that it is okay to speed if you are driving safely.
Despite this widespread recognition of the risks associated with speeding, the community is less willing to accept the need for speed enforcement, in comparison with its support for drink driving enforcement. Support for random breath testing is almost universal (consistently 96%), while close to six in ten (58%) agree with the statement that fines for speeding are mainly intended to raise revenue.
This reluctance to endorse speed enforcement may be linked to driver behaviour, with more people admitting to speeding than drink driving. This is most evident when comparing the extremes of speed and drink driving behaviour. The number who say they mostly or always drive at 10 km/h or more over the speed limit (11%) is an order of magnitude larger than the number who agree that If I am driving I do not restrict what I drink (1%).
The community exhibits a growing recognition of the contribution of driver fatigue to road crashes, with 13% identifying fatigue as the main cause of crashes and one in three (33%) including fatigue in their list of the three main causes of road crashes. Awareness of fatigue as a crash factor is highest (39%) among those aged 25 to 39 years.
A new series of questions introduced in 2001 suggests that our awareness of fatigue as a crash factor is in many cases based on actual experience, with one in seven (14%) of those asked recalling having fallen asleep at the wheel while driving. Among these, a similar proportion (16%) had an accident as a result. Males (20%) are more than twice as likely as females (8%) to have ever fallen asleep at the wheel while driving. Approximately half of all people who have fallen asleep at the wheel (54%) recall doing so just once, mostly on a country trip lasting over two hours.
This survey reveals a growing awareness of the dangers of speeding and increasing evidence of a shift in attitudes across a range of speed-related behaviours. The community appears to be moving towards a more responsible attitude to speed, and there is a decline in the level of extreme attitudes to speed, across a range of areas.
Nine out of ten licence holders recognise that increasing speed greatly increases crash severity, agreeing that An accident at 70 km/h will be a lot more severe than an accident at 60km/h (90%). Two out of three (67%) are aware of the link between speed and crash involvement, agreeing that A 10 km/h increase in driving speed significantly increases the risk of being involved in a crash.
There is a growing trend in acceptance of initiatives to protect the community from the dangers of speed. Support for a 50 km/h limit in residential areas continues to increase (73%) and close to half (49%) of the community support zero speed tolerance (i.e. strict enforcement of the 60km/h speed limit) in urban streets.
It is also widely accepted (88%) that speed limits are generally set at reasonable levels. However, one in three (33%) still consider it reasonable to speed, agreeing with the statement that it is okay to speed if you are driving safely.
Despite this widespread recognition of the risks associated with speeding, the community is less willing to accept the need for speed enforcement, in comparison with its support for drink driving enforcement. Support for random breath testing is almost universal (consistently 96%), while close to six in ten (58%) agree with the statement that fines for speeding are mainly intended to raise revenue.
This reluctance to endorse speed enforcement may be linked to driver behaviour, with more people admitting to speeding than drink driving. This is most evident when comparing the extremes of speed and drink driving behaviour. The number who say they mostly or always drive at 10 km/h or more over the speed limit (11%) is an order of magnitude larger than the number who agree that If I am driving I do not restrict what I drink (1%).
The community exhibits a growing recognition of the contribution of driver fatigue to road crashes, with 13% identifying fatigue as the main cause of crashes and one in three (33%) including fatigue in their list of the three main causes of road crashes. Awareness of fatigue as a crash factor is highest (39%) among those aged 25 to 39 years.
A new series of questions introduced in 2001 suggests that our awareness of fatigue as a crash factor is in many cases based on actual experience, with one in seven (14%) of those asked recalling having fallen asleep at the wheel while driving. Among these, a similar proportion (16%) had an accident as a result. Males (20%) are more than twice as likely as females (8%) to have ever fallen asleep at the wheel while driving. Approximately half of all people who have fallen asleep at the wheel (54%) recall doing so just once, mostly on a country trip lasting over two hours.
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