NCJ Number
215893
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 73 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2006 Pages: 62-64
Date Published
September 2006
Length
3 pages
Annotation
After outlining some of the reasons why there is more excessive speed on the Nation's highways, this article suggests ways to address this problem.
Abstract
After years of steady decline, the number of traffic-related deaths is increasing. A major reason for this is drivers' disdain for speed limits and failure to recognize speeding dangers. Most drivers who regularly travel a particular route determine for themselves what speed they feel comfortable with under ideal conditions and tend to drive at that speed, without considering the posted speed limit and the conditions that warrant the assigned speed limit. The highway safety community--police, courts, engineering, and public education--needs a new action plan to address trends in dangerous driver behavior. This action plan should include a number of components. First, public perception of the hazards of speeding should be increased. Public-awareness campaigns on the hazards of speeding should focus on the following effects of speeding: narrowed field of vision, less space for maneuvering, reduced ability to negotiate curves, and reduced ability to react to the driving errors of other motorists. Second, there should be new paradigms in highway design, i.e., more attention to designing roads that require reduced speed. Third, speed limits should be realistic and self-enforcing; meaning they should be based on road conditions and take into account factors that tend to increase speed. Fourth, officers must be convinced of the need to enforce speed laws; and fifth, measures must be identified for evaluating the effectiveness of the action plan.