Psy 409a, November 27, 2006
Speed Limits
by Gina Kim
Instructions for
this activity are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/g25-oral1.htm
Instructor: Dr.
Leon James
Leon James and Diane Nahl (2000). Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare. (
A. Speeding
1. Speed limit + x rule : People will go faster than the speed limit by a certain amount that usually stays constant within neighborhood norms.
2. Drivers see speeding in different ways depending on how much over the speed limit they consider to be speeding.
3. Police see speeding as anything over the speed limit.
4. Drivers feel that speeding is okay to a certain extent and that setting an arbitrary speed limit is unfair.
5. This leads to “speed limit rebellion” and resentment towards police officers that give tickets to speeders.
B. Police and Speeding
1. When police are present, traffic tends to slow down.
2. Police officers are often seen speeding themselves and this causes other drivers to get upset.
3. A common attitude is that police officers should go out and stop crime rather than waste their time patrolling the highways.
C. Electronic Traffic Surveillance
1. Running a red light is the leading cause of crashes in urban areas.
2. Red light cameras can detect the speed of the car, take a picture of the driver and license plate, and record the date and time.
3. This is not used in all states. Some states use them, some use it with certain limits, and some states prohibit the use of radar cameras.
4. People against this system say that it slows down traffic and that other methods are available to cut down on accidents without slowing down traffic.
LINKS
1.
The
55mph Speed Limit : http://www.heritage.org/Research/SmartGrowth/bg532.cfm
- This is an article that was written in 1986. It talks about the high cost of
implementing the 55mph speed limit and gives reasons as to why it might not be
as helpful as it seems. It goes over whether or not the speed limit saves fuel
and brings up the fact that the decrease in the number of fatalities actually
preceded the implementation of the speed limit.
2. Police Speeding Petition : http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/policespeeding
- You can post petitions and have people sign them on this website. This
particular petition was to stop police speeding abuse. This person believes
that police officers should obey the same laws that they enforce. It was
interesting because when you sign, you can also leave comments.
3. Petition for Electronic Traffic
Surveillance : http://townhall.townofchapelhill.org/archives/agendas/ca010116/1-Electronic%20Traffic%20Surveillance%201-16-01.htm
– This was a copy of an agenda from a 2001
My Home page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2006/kim/kim-home.htm
Class Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm