Driving above the speed limit or too fast for the conditions is the leading cause of crashes on the roads. As such, there is substantial interest in how to address speeding behaviour. 

There are various approaches including advertising campaigns, workshops with pre- and new drivers, workplace initiatives, and training courses that can be offered to people in place of a prosecution. The behaviour change techniques that make up these interventions need to be selected and operationalised based on an in-depth understanding of the reasons why people speed. 

This project reviewed the literature to identify five different reasons drivers give for speeding:

•     I’m unaware: not knowing the speed limit or noticing speed limit signs.
•     I don’t care: thinking that it’s ok to speed, for example because it’s not “real” speeding, or that everybody speeds, or it’s safe to speed. 
•     I don’t control it: feeling in a situation where you don’t have a choice, for example being late, being tailgated, or feeling pressure from passengers. 
•     I get carried away: by negative emotions such as anger or aggression, or by positive emotions such as excitement.
•     I like it: a positive attitude towards speeding, for example believing that it saves time, brings financial benefits or that it’s enjoyable.

An intervention to reduce speeding should identify which of these reasons for speeding it addresses, and select appropriate behaviour change techniques to embed within the intervention content.

Professor Fiona Fylan, Head of Sustainable Behaviour, Leeds Beckett University

Fiona Fylan is a Health Psychologist who applies behavioural sciences to better understand behaviour and develop and evaluate interventions to change road user behaviour.

She is Professor of Sustainable Behaviour at the Leeds Sustainability Institute at Leeds Beckett University and leads the team of psychologists who develop UKROEd’s courses such as the National Speed Awareness Course.

Dr Simon Christmas, Simon Christmas Ltd

Dr Simon Christmas is a mixed-methods researcher working across transport, environment and health, with an interest in better understanding behaviour. His work for clients in multiple sectors explores how other people experience, make sense of and find value in the world. His work is always focused on a need to understand the perspective of others – citizens, customers, colleagues, service-users or stakeholders.

Simon’s task is to help clients make better decisions by showing them the world from another standpoint. He is a Chartered Psychologist and a Full Member of the Market Research Society.