Research reveals speed cameras really do catch bad drivers.
20 Apr 2006

MEDIA INVITATION

Reporters, photographers and film crews are invited to attend the official launch of the Midlands' Drivers' Attitude Study, at 10.30am on Wednesday April 26, 2006 at the City Inn Hotel, Birmingham.

THE more times you have been caught by a speed camera, the more likely you are to be involved in a crash, a research project conducted in the Midlands will reveal.

Leading transport psychologist Professor Steve Stradling will warn at the launch of the Midlands' Drivers' Attitude Study that drivers with penalty points for speeding are far more likely to have an accident than those with a clean licence.

The independent research project will show that 64% of motorists with points on their licence have been involved in a collision, compared with 42% who have no points.

The study, jointly developed by Prof Stradling at the Transport Research Institute, Napier University, Edinburgh on behalf of eight Midlands' safety camera partnerships, will also show an alarming 72% of drivers with four or more points on their licence have been in a crash.

The project, which will be unveiled at the City Inn Hotel, Birmingham on April 26, 2006, interviewed almost 2500 motorists over a six-month period to gain an in-depth understanding of drivers' behaviour on the roads.

Prof Stradling said: "This large-scale, extensive and thorough study across the Midlands has produced a number of interesting and statistically robust findings which challenge a number of modern motoring myths, the most notable being the wide-held perception that speed cameras don't catch bad drivers."

He added: "We have been able to highlight the fact that drivers who have been caught by speed cameras were significantly more likely to have had a collision than those who hadn't been caught – a finding which was evident among all groups, independent of age or mileage."

The event will also include contributions from Adrian Walsh, Director of Roadsafe, on the value of the findings for road safety campaigners, and Project Manager Penny Meigh, who will outline the research methods used to conduct the study, along with some key results. The study also revealed that:

• Only a quarter of drivers aged between 25 and 50 actually enjoy driving fast.
• Three quarters of drivers consider themselves to be 'a better driver than most people.'
• 15% of men aged between 35 and 50 have received at least three speeding tickets.
• 70% of under 25-year-olds admit to breaking the 30mph limit.
• The majority of drivers, especially females, believe that speeding is selfish.
• Only one third of drivers who had been involved in a road traffic collision said they drove more carefully after the crash. More worryingly another third said having a crash had absolutely no effect on their driving afterwards.
• Economically active male drivers aged between 35 and 50 with larger car engines are most likely to activate a speed camera.
• Up to 40% of passengers said that they would never ask the driver to drive more safely.
• There are two distinct groups of “boy racers” each with different attitudes towards driving.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

A total of 2500 motorists were interviewed at random in towns and cities across the Midlands over six months. These were:

• Derbyshire – Derby, Ripley, Chesterfield, Ashbourne and Heanor
• Leicestershire – Leicester, Loughborough and Melton Mowbray
• Lincolnshire – Lincoln, Grantham and Grimsby
• Nottinghamshire – Nottingham, Mansfield, Newark and Worksop
• Staffordshire – Hanley, Stafford, Tamworth and Burton
• Warwickshire – Leamington Spa, Warwick and Rugby
• West Mercia – Telford, Shrewsbury, Worcester and Hereford
• West Midlands – Birmingham, Coventry, Walsall, Dudley, Wolverhampton, Sutton Coldfield and Solihull

Prof Steve Stradling of the Transport Research Institute, Edinburgh is one of the UK's foremost experts in driver behaviour and psychology.

Adrian Walsh is the director of Roadsafe, a partnership of leading companies in the motor and transport Industries in Britain, the Government and road safety professionals. It aims to reduce deaths and injuries caused by road accidents and promote safer driving.