Speeding-related crashes are a serious problem in the United States. Most drivers admit to speeding at least some of the time, but there are subgroups of the driving population who tend to speed more often. Traditional speed management practices have failed to deter many of the more egregious habitual speeders. One promising new approach for addressing this speeding problem is a vehicle-based monitoring and feedback system. This study examined the feasibility of a speed-monitoring system that provided feedback to at-risk drivers (chronic speeders). The research team first reviewed available monitoring and feedback products and selected a device for use in a naturalistic field study that provided real-time, tailored feedback to drivers on the posted speed limit for roads on which they were driving. A focus group was then conducted with a small group of habitual speeders to explore issues related to the study design and gather feedback on the selected device from the perspective of this target population. The research team established a cooperative agreement with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration to send letters about the study to a random sample of licensed Maryland drivers with multiple speeding citations in the previous three years. Participation was voluntary. Only drivers who called the research team in response to the letter sent by the MVA and met specific criteria (21 or older, had valid driver’s license, insured, drove at least 100 miles per week on average, and had at least three speeding citations in previous three years) were eligible for participation. A total of 101 participants enrolled in the study and had the monitoring and feedback devices installed on their vehicles. Data from 18 participants was compromised for a variety of reasons (traveling in work vehicle, license revocation, vehicle damaged, tampering with the study device) and these participants were dropped from the study. The final sample included 83 participants, stratified by age group and gender that provided usable data. People agreeing to participate drove their vehicles to the research facility where they completed screening to confirm their eligibility, received an explanation of the study and the monitoring and feedback devices, and then had their vehicles outfitted with the devices. For the comlete report see http://nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811996-InvestUseFeasSpeedWarnSys.p… (Author/publisher)
Abstract