Deciding on speed: "Do knowledge of speed limits and other factors influence our way of driving?"

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Psikoloji Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2015

Öğrenci: BEGÜM GÜR ERDOST

Eş Danışman: MİNE MISIRLISOY, TÜRKER ÖZKAN

Özet:

The problem of Road Traffic Accidents is a growing epidemic all over the world; with an annual bill of 1.3 million lost lives (WHO, 2014). Human factors contribute more than 90% of errors causing these accidents; the main cause being speeding (Oppenheim and Shinar, 2011). Speeding was found to be the cause of 43% of all fatal and injury accidents in Turkey (TurkStat, 2013). Hence, understanding the underlying factors of speeding is of utmost importance for improving traffic safety. This study investigated whether awareness of speed limits on a certain road, along with other factors affected speed choice, analysing the data obtained from Road Safety 10 (RS10) project conducted in Turkey. RS10 project was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies under the scope of Global Road Safety Program to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the roads of 10 low and middle income countries (LMICs), including Turkey, between 2010 and 2014. Data collected from Ankara and Afyonkarahisar, in three different waves was used for the analyses. Overall, 755 drivers from Afyonkarahisar, and 1581 drivers from Ankara were interviewed using a standardized speeding survey. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed significant effects of age, gender, education level and annual mileage on excessive speeding behaviour. Perception of speed fines as governmental income, setting a safe margin of speed above the speed limit; and perception of excessive speed as a cause of traffic accidents also significantly affected the drivers' choice of speed. However, no significant effect of knowing the speed limits on excessive speed was observed