Lowering speed of car drivers will have positive impacts on environmental pollution and the number of road accidents. It is therefore a potentially interesting policy option for governments which want to reduce negative externalities of transport. In this paper the acceptance of these policies is analyzed by means of a survey questionnaire held among car drivers and public transport users in the Netherlands. First, an analysis is presented on the general speed behaviour, the behaviour on distinct road types, the acceptance of lower limits, and the acceptance and perception of electronic speed limiters. Next, a statistical analysis of subgroups is carried out. It is concluded that the speed of car drivers is in concluded that the speed of car drivers is in general not considered as a main problematic issue by drivers and non-drivers. Therefore, there is little scope for the acceptance of changes in speed policies, especially because psychological factors of speed behaviour play an important role. When speed policies are changed (for instance: lower limits, electronic speed limiters) it seems most effective to emphasize safety aspects in order to increase public support. (A)
Abstract