A Comparison of the Effects of Posted Feedback and Increased Police Surveillance on Highway Speeding

Abstract

A counterbalanced, reversal design was used to compare the effectiveness of posted feedback and increased police surveillance in reducing speeding on two urban highways. Drivers' speeds were measured using a concealed radar unit. During public posting, a large highway sign, which listed the percentage of drivers not speeding during the preceding week and the best record to date, was erected on each street. Use of the feedback sign alternated with periods of baseline and periods of increased police surveillance and ticketing. During increased police surveillance, highly visible, stationary police radar patrols were established along the highways for either 30 min or 60 min per day, 5 days per week. Results indicated that although public posting was highly effective in reducing the percentage of speeding drivers, increased police surveillance was not. Thus, since the feedback sign required only 30 min per week to maintain, public posting was at least 10 times more efficient in controlling speeding than was police surveillance and ticketing.

Feedback Interventions and Driving Speed: A Parametric and Comparative Analysis

“…One technique that decreases vehicle speed is posting of the percentage of drivers not speeding, along with the best record to date, on a highway sign (Van Houten, Nau, & Marini, 1980;Van Houten & Nau, 1981). This technique reduced serious speeding (85th percentile speeding) by over 50%.…”

“…Moreover, the effects of the presence of the feedback sign in the original study have persisted for approximately 4 years at the time of this writing. Van Houten et al (1980) and Van Houten and Nau (1981) posted the percentage of drivers traveling less than 16 and 14 km/hr over the speed limit, respectively, as not speeding. These criteria for speeding were chosen rather than the posted limit because police authorities did not consider vehicles traveling under these speeds to be significant threats to safety.…”

“…One purpose of the second experiment was to determine how far the effects of the feedback sign persisted along a stretch of highway. Since all previous studies have been conducted along urban undivided highways with residential speed limits (Van Houten et al, 1980;Van Houten & Nau, 1981), a second purpose of this study was to determine if the feedback sign would be effective on a limited access divided highway with a high speed limit (100 km/hr).…”

“…Another approach used to control speeding involves setting up radar check points and charging motorists traveling over the speed limit. However, a number of studies have demonstrated that this traditional method of speed limit enforcement has little effect in reducing the percentage of speeding motorists (Carr, Schnelle, & Kirchner, 1980;Cirillo, 1968;Edwards & Brackett, 1978;Galizio et al, 1979;Van Houten & Nau, 1981). One reason the traditional method of enforcement is not very effective is that the large number of motorists speeding on most roads precludes the charging of all but a small percentage of the total number of violators because of the time required to charge someone with speeding.…”

Behavior Analysis in Consumer Affairs: Encouraging Dental Professionals to Provide Consumers With Shielding From Unnecessary X‐ray Exposure

“…This prospect has been an impetus for a program of research whose scope, nature, and purpose are suggested by terms such as community behavior analysis (Greene, 1981) and behavioral community psychology (Briscoe, Hoffman, & Bailey, 1975). This research has introduced behavioral engineering to systems responsible for energy conservation (Winett, 1980), traffic safety (Greene, Bailey, & Barber, 1981;Van Houten & Nau, 1981), and health care (Reiss, Piotrowski, & Bailey, 1976 Although community behavior analysis seems promising, it has generally introduced no more change in these systems than necessary to produce specific changes in the behavior of its consumers. For example, although consumers have been encouraged to comply with health care systems and to curtail consumption of fossil fuels, little complementary research has addressed the questionable practices of physicians and pharmaceutical companies (cf.…”