One in twelve has had an accident trying to make up ‘lost’ time
8 July 2004
[British] drivers are defying calming traffic initiatives by speeding up and taking risks to compensate for ‘lost’ time, a study reveals today.
Two-thirds of drivers (67%) told researchers for windscreen experts Autoglass® that their response to road safety measures is to disregard the Highway Code elsewhere.
After being forced to slow down by traffic calming measures, four in five breaks the speed limit (84%), seven in ten drive aggressively (72%) or jump amber lights (71%) and two in three will cut up another driver (68%) or use rat runs (67%).
As a result, one in 12 – the equivalent of 2.7m drivers – told Autoglass® they had had an accident of some sort. A quarter (25%) have had a near miss.
Nigel Doggett, managing director of Autoglass®, said: “The effectiveness of traffic calming measures in improving safety at danger spots has been proven, but it seems they hurt drivers’ behavior elsewhere.
“This suggests that more must be done to ensure drivers understand that road safety measures are genuinely working to keep them safe, not to inconvenience them. They certainly must not be seen as a justification for risk-taking elsewhere.”
Four in five (79%) drivers say they feel inconvenienced by road safety measures, six in ten (57%) say they feel irritated, and 31% say they cause stress.
They say road safety measures are as annoying as being stolen or robbed (44%) or having their car broken into (48%).
By comparison, a third (35%) say they feel safer because of them, and one in five (20%) say they feel protected.
In justifying their risky responses, drivers claim that road safety measures add 17 minutes to a typical journey.
Nigel Doggett of Autoglass® said: “It seems that telling drivers to slow down or drive carefully in one place only makes them determined to speed up or take risks elsewhere.
“They then appear to exaggerate or over-estimate the inconvenience and lost time caused by traffic calming to justify their actions.”
Now, Autoglass®, which has sent it’s Rebel Drivers’ report to road safety minister David Jamieson, is calling on the Government to provide drivers with yet more education on the effectiveness of traffic calming.
Doggett said: “We believe more persuasive arguments must be made for calming traffic measures.
“If drivers continue to rebel against them, they will only create new danger spots, and the stark option is that calming measures may have to be extended even further.”
Autoglass®, working with psychologist Dr. David Lewis, has prepared a five-step plan to encourage motorists to think more positively about road safety.
The five-step plan is as follows:
1. Plan your route
If you know from the outset that you will encounter traffic-calming measures, you’ll be more relaxed when you hit speed cameras, reduced limits, or road humps – and less likely to rebel against them.
2. Move your mindset
Stop thinking of traffic-calming measures as time-wasters and start accepting that they protect the safety of you and your loved ones and save lives on the UK’s roads every day.
3. Refresh your routine
If you know there are certain roads on which you are always tempted to speed or disregard the road rules, avoid them, and opt for another route.
4. Break the habit
Once you’ve broken one rule, it becomes easier to break the rest. So every time you get behind the wheel, promise yourself that you will put safety before speed and stick to it.
5. Check your mirrors
You know those drivers who annoy you? The aggressive ones who beep their horns or drive bumper to bumper behind you in the fast lane? Look in the mirror at your behavior and ask how other drivers feel when you brake suddenly or jump short-timed traffic lights at junctions.
Footnote:
British motorists believe we have too many:
| Road humps | 53% |
| Speed cameras | 49% |
| Traffic lights that only stay green for a short time | 43% |
| Calming measures such as chicanes/narrow roads | 28% |
| Reduced speed limit areas | 22% |
Source: Autoglass (direct release to DSA)