Educated drivers prefer slower speeds by up to 10 times

20 May 2008

New research published today has demonstrated that the attitudes among drivers educated after committing a speeding offence shows they have much improved intentions to drive within the limit.

The research, conducted by Professor Frank McKenna (University of Reading), has looked at the attitudes of drivers attending the course to see how they change though the education they receive. The results demonstrate women drivers attending the course are 9.8 times less likely to intend to break the 30mph speed limit on leaving the course than they were when they went into the classroom. Whilst performance among men is not quite so good, their intentions in relation to the 30mph limit are still nearly five times better than before the course started.

The other startling fact is that after just a few hours of looking at their own attitudes to driving and the classroom based training, drivers are nearly five times less likely to think that it is safe to drive at 35 mph in a 30mph limit.

Launching some element of the research at the Royal College of Physicians, Professor McKenna outlined why this could be so significant for the future of road safety.

“If drivers genuinely accept that speed is the defining issue in determining how serious the effects of a crash are, then we can make much greater progress in utilising new and existing technologies to restrict speeds and improve safety. There are measures that could be implemented now, but only if the public understand why they are being introduced; that is to stop the tragic waste of life that is still occurring on our roads.”

The evaluation was based on measuring the attitudes of drivers attending speed awareness workshops, managed by DriveTech (UK) plc, in the Thames Valley region.

Speaking for Thames Valley Police who introduced the scheme, Malcolm Collis said:

“We have provided an opportunity to over 100,000 drivers to look at the roads in a different way, helping them to examine the effects that their choice of speed could have if it all goes wrong. The evidence is clear that this approach leaves drivers with a better understanding of why speed matters, more determination to slow down and feeling in far greater control over their choice of speed.”

Editor's Notes

DriveTech (UK) plc is one of the UK’s leading providers of road risk management, driver assessment and education. We work both with organisations whose employees ‘drive for work’ and with members of the public, who are offered education as an alternative to prosecution by the police.

DriveTech’s vision is ‘working together to eliminate road death and serious injuries’ by providing the most effective and innovative solutions, using education and technology, to minimise risk for all road users.

DriveTech (UK) has won the Institute of Transport Management’s (ITM) ‘Fleet Award for Driver Training’ in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 and the ‘European Driver Safety Specialist’ award in 2005. In September 2007, it was named the ITM’s ‘UK Driver Training Solutions Specialist’ for making ‘the most significant impact upon the Driver Training and Safety sector over the past decade’

In 2007, DriveTech (UK) won the South England and South Wales regional award of the Bank of Scotland Corporate ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ of up to £5m, interest-free funding and was runner-up in the national Grand Finale. In addition, the company was named runner-up in the 2007 Thames Valley ‘Business of the Year’ award.

For further information, members of the media should contact Steve Johnson on direct line +44 (0)1789 414700, mobile +44 (0) 7894 621134 or on steve.johnson@drivetech.co.uk