Ignorance of speed limits might be one reason for non-observance. As an initial examination of the possibility that some drivers do not know what speed limit they should be observing, police reports of speeding cases were examined to see how many drivers said they did not know what the limit was. Nine per cent said they did not know what the limit was, but it was not possible to distinguish between those who were genuinely ignorant of the limit and those who merely said they did not know in the hope of escaping prosecution. In almost half the cases examined, the drivers were recorded as having made no reply to the police officer when they were reported. The constraints on using data from police reports for research of this kind are discussed. (Author/publisher)
Abstract