Many motorists may ignore speed limits

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Many U.S. motorists don't see the relevance of speed limits, and many say they can drive safely while speeding, researchers said.

"For whatever reason, respect for speed limits seems to have deteriorated," Fred Mannering of Purdue University said in a statement.

"A 2002 survey indicated two-thirds of all drivers reported they exceeded the posted speed limit, and roughly one-third reported driving 10 mph faster than most other vehicles."

The survey was taken before and after a 2004 media campaign stressing the dangers of speeding, Mannering said. Using the survey data, Mannering applied a series of mathematical equations in a model to estimate the probabilities of speed and safety viewpoints for drivers in various categories.

The study, published in Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behavior, found of the 988 drivers in the survey, 21 percent thought it was safe to drive up to 5 mph over the speed limit; 43 percent thought it was safe to drive up to 10 mph over; and 36 percent thought it was safe to drive up to 20 mph over the speed limit.

The study showed the media campaign on the dangers of speeding had no statistically significant impact on drivers' views.