This note describes a study of the use which drivers of motorvehicles make of the speedometer when making change of speed, particularly in circumstances where an appropriate speed is likely to be important to safety. By the combined use of behavioural observation and questionnaire techniques ad comparison was also made between what drivers say they do and what they actually do on the road. The behaviour of 30 subjects was observed while they drove over ad route chosen to include most situations where ad speedometer might reasonably be considered helpful to safe driving. The results showed that there were wide differences in the use made of the speedometer by different drivers and that the drivers thought the used a speedometer far more than they did. The only exceptions were on a motor way and in towns. Asked whether the thought the should driver less safely without a speedometer, 21 drivers (70 per cent) said "NO".
Samenvatting