This interim report is offered as a contribution to the UK Government's Speed Review. It presents research, commissioned by the AA Foundation for Road Safety Research, to give a better understanding of issues surrounding speeding. The research assumes that worthwhile road safety benefits can be obtained from reduced speeds. Therefore, it has concentrated on studying drivers' attitudes and behaviour, with the aim of providing a basis for developing policies and actions which will reduce speeding. The objectives of the research are to: (1) increase understanding of why some drivers drive excessively fast or at speeds inappropriate for the road and traffic conditions; (2) provide updated information on excess and inappropriate behaviour as factors contributing to crashes in different urban and rural environments; and (3) increase understanding of the complex interactions between road users' choices of speed and their perception of the road environment through features of layout and design, landscape and adjacent land use, signing, and markings. The report discusses: (1) the research objectives and methods; (2) a driver attitude study, based on surveys and group discussions; (3) a Delphi survey to obtain the views of professionals in a wide range of fields related to safety; and (4) various conclusions.
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