Study: Making roads safer has led to bored, risk-taking drivers

[Stephane Dumas]

Article from Autoblog
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/05/study-making-roads-safer-has-led-to-bored-risk-taking-drivers/

A new study from researchers in Australia may have dug up one of the reasons why drivers exceed the speed limit on their way to work. According to the Toronto Sun, a new study has found that drivers who are bored behind the wheel are more likely to put the right pedal to the floor. Researchers at Newcastle University asked drivers to answer a few questions about their driving habits and found that 31 percent of those behind the wheel are inattentive and dangerous. More surprisingly, 35 percent of those polled were classified as enthusiastic and attentive. These are the motorists that enjoy driving, but go faster when their stimulus levels decrease. The study also found that 21 percent of those polled dislike driving and move slower, while members of the smallest group, just 13 percent of the total respondents, were branded slow and safe.

[realjd]

I'm too lazy to Google it now, but I've seen similar studies showing that drivers of safer vehicles tend to take more risks on the road.

Interestingly, drivers with radar detectors are something like 25% less likely to be involved in an accident than drivers without (although I'd Google the exact percent before you quote me on it!). I always figured that it's because people who buy radar detectors tend to drive more than people who don't (like any skill, practice makes perfect) and that people who speed and care enough to by a RD are generally more attentive to the road since they're scanning ahead for cops.

In the linked study, I'd probably classify myself as "enthusiastic and attentive". I'm always surprised at the number of people on the roads who are just not paying attention.

[Scott5114]

I think a big problem with a lot of the world is some people refuse to pay attention to anything. The number of times I've seen people try and feed $100 into a slot machine which is displaying an obvious error screen is mind boggling.

[vdeane]

I don't see why a study is needed for this.  Of course it's going to feel like you're moving slow as molasses if you're driving the speed limit on a road whose safety improvements have come faster than speed limit increases.

[jjakucyk]

I don't see why a study is needed for this.  Of course it's going to feel like you're moving slow as molasses if you're driving the speed limit on a road whose safety improvements have come faster than speed limit increases.

Then you have to wonder just what the point was of those "safety improvements" in the first place if they just encourage people to drive faster.  Some of the safest streets around are the busy downtown streets with very narrow lanes, parked cars on all sides, and pedestrians all over the place.  That forces drivers to be much more attentive and it keeps speeds low.  The suburban collector or arterial with 14 foot lanes, smooth curvature, thousand foot sight lines, and no trees within the clear zone is a highway by contrast, even if the speed limit is 30 mph.  It encourages driving faster, like on a highway, but without the guardrails or lack of pedestrians you'd expect on a limited-access freeway.  That makes the road much more dangerous, especially to pedestrians and cyclists, but also to the inattentive or inexperienced driver. 

This explains it much better than I can:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9BUyWVg1xI

[Tarkus]

Some of the safest streets around are the busy downtown streets with very narrow lanes, parked cars on all sides, and pedestrians all over the place. 

Why then, do I feel really unsafe on those sorts of streets on any mode of transport and feel my blood pressure rising?

-Alex (Tarkus)

[jjakucyk]

If you don't feel safe then you're going to be paying a lot more attention to everything that's around you, going slower, and proceeding cautiously.  That's what makes it safe. 

[Sykotyk]

jjakucyk, exactly. Your awareness level is heightened, therefore less likely to get into an accident.

General principle with the adage that most accidents are within X miles of home (other than the fact that the vast majority of a person's mileage will be within short radius of home, upping the odds), they also are more relaxed with roads they know and are more carefree in what they attempt (eating while driving, not paying attention to road signs, etc).

Put a new stop sign in a town without any advance notice and watch how many people run it. It's not that they can't see it, but that they're not expecting to see it.