THE USE MADE OF THE SPEEDOMETER AS AN AID TO DRIVING

THE USE WHICH DRIVERS OF MOTOR VEHICLES MAKE OF THE SPEEDOMETER WHEN MAKING CHANGES OF SPEED, PARTICULARLY IN CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE AN APPROPRIATE SPEED IS LIKELY TO BE IMPORTANT TO SAFETY, IS DESCRIBED. BY THE COMBINED USE OF BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATION AND QUESTIONNAIRE TECHNIQUES A COMPARISON WAS ALSO MADE BETWEEN WHAT DRIVERS SAY THEY DO, AND WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO, ON THE ROAD. THE BEHAVIOR OF 30 SUBJECTS WAS OBSERVED WHILE THEY DROVE OVER A ROUTE CHOSEN TO INCLUDE MOST SITUATIONS WHERE A SPEEDOMETER MIGHT REASONABLY BE CONSIDERED HELPFUL TO SAFE DRIVING. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THERE WERE WIDE DIFFERENCES IN THE USE MADE OF THE SPEEDOMETER BY DIFFERENT DRIVERS AND THAT THE DRIVERS THOUGHT THEY USED A SPEEDOMETER FAR MORE THAN THEY DID. ASKED WHETHER THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD DRIVE LESS SAFELY WITHOUT A SPEEDOMETER, 22 DRIVERS (70 PERCENT) SAID THEY THOUGHT NOT. /AUTHOR/

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00140139
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 12, No 3, PP 447-454
• Authors:
  • Denton, G G
• Publication Date: 1969-5

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Ergonomics
  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis
  • ISSN: 0014-0139
  • EISSN: 1366-5847
  • Serial URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/terg20

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Drivers; Speed control; Speed indicators; Traffic safety; Utilization
• Subject Areas: Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223068
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 16 1970 12:00AM