Speeding is the single highest contributor to motor accidents in Australia. Used in addition to conventional countermeasures such as speed limits and enforcement, the implementation of perceptual countermeasures to speeding is an underdeveloped strategy that has potential to contribute significantly to combating this problem. Perceptual countermeasures (PCMs) are relatively low cost, non-obtrusive roadmarkings usually involving only paint, gravel, or both, placed across a lane, on the edge of a lane, or as a replacement for the usual lane delineation. They are designed to reduce travel speeds through influencing such aspects of driving as speed perception, mental workload, risk perception, and driver comfort. The aims of the present project were: systematically to evaluate the effectiveness of a representative range of PCMs using a driving simulator; to determine which psychological mechanisms are behind changes in driver behaviour that occur in response to PCMs; and to confirm the validity of the driving simulator methodology used. (Author/Publisher)
Abstract