According to early results of an ongoing straw poll survey, drivers are likely tobe spending up to 50% of their time looking at their speedometers in areas ofdanger warns Safe Speed.
There does not appear to be any scientific research to warn us about exactlyhow much attention drivers are paying to their speedometers instead of theroad ahead in the area of a speed camera.
An simple experiment devised by Safe Speed indicates that checking thespeedo takes about 1 second, with most of the time taken in refocusing on thespeedometer and then back on the road ahead.
Speed cameras in the UK are claimed to be positioned at accident black spots,but the Safe Speed survey suggests that three quarters of drivers wouldcheck their speedos 3 times or more over an eight second period in a typicaldanger zone. With speedo checks taking about a second, the average drivermay actually be spending 40% of his total time in the danger zone looking athis speedometer. 10 percent of respondents have indicated that they wouldlook at their speedos five or more times in just eight seconds.
Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign said: "We havelong been worried about drivers concentrating on the speedo when theyshould be looking at the road ahead, but the results we are getting in oursurvey are a real shock."
Paul continues: "It is astonishing to think that the authorities have embarkedon our large scale speed camera program without carrying out properresearch and having absolutely definitive answers about how long it takesto read the speedo and about how many times drivers check their speedosin the vicinity of speed cameras."
Paul continues: "Safe Speed certainly does not claim that these earlyresults are definitive, but they may well be an indication of a large anddangerous road safety problem. What is needed right now is a properscientific study."
Paul continues: "Safe Speed demands an immediate cessation of all speedcamera operations until these clear and obvious dangers have beenquantified and analysed. They may claim that speed cameras save lives,but with driver attention diverted from the road ahead and fatality figuresrising despite massive improvements in vehicle safety, no one will believethem."
This Safe Speed web page provides details of the ongoing small scalesurvey:http://www.safespeed.org.uk/speedo.html
and your are invited to contribute to the survey.
Early indications are as follows:In an 8 second danger zone:
10% would check their speedo 5 or more times17% would check their speedo 4 times46% would check their speedo 3 times17% would check their speedo twice7% would check their speedo once
About Safe Speed:===============
Since setting up Safe Speed in 2001, Paul Smith, 48, an advanced motoristand road safety enthusiast, and a professional engineer of 25 years UKexperience, has carried out in excess of 4,500 hours of research into theoverall effects of speed camera policy on UK road safety. We believe thatthis is more work in more detail than anything carried out by any otherorganisation. Paul's surprising conclusion is that overall speed camerasmake our roads more dangerous. Paul has identified and reported a numberof major flaws and false assumptions in the claims made for speedcameras, and the whole "speed kills" system of road safety.
The inescapable conclusion is that we should urgently return to theexcellent road safety policies that gave us in the UK the safest roads inthe World in the first place.
Safe Speed does not campaign against speed limits or appropriateenforcement of motoring laws, but argues vigorously that automatedspeed enforcement is neither safe nor appropriate.
