Nudging driving speed using Dick Bruna traffic signs: a field experiment; Study of the actual speeds driven in five municipalities in the Netherlands.
Nudging van rijsnelheid via Dick Brunaborden : een veldexperiment : de effecten op werkelijk gereden snelheden in vijf gemeenten onderzocht. In opdracht van Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag.
This report presents the results of a study into the effect of Dick Bruna (Dick Bruna is a Dutch author, illustrator and graphic designer known for the children's books he authored and illustrated. His most famous creation is Miffy) traffic signs along 30 km/h roads on the driving speed. SWOV carried out the study commissioned by the metropolitan region Rotterdam - The Hague. A previous study using photos of roads indicated that respondents prefer lower speeds when they see pictures of roads with Dick Bruna signs than when they see roads without Dick Bruna signs. The results of this study were reason to investigate whether this effect would also occur in real traffic. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted in which the actual driving speeds were measured at five 30 km/h roads with and five 30 km/h roads without Dick Bruna signs. The field experiment intended to answer two research questions: 1. Do drivers travel at lower speeds on 30 km/h roads where Dick Bruna traffic signs have been placed than on roads without Dick Bruna signs? 2. If there is an effect on driving speed: how long does this effect last after placement of the Dick Bruna sign? In the study three speed categories are distinguished: the average speed, the speed that is not exceeded by 85% of the drivers (V85), and the percentage of speed offenders. In total, nearly half a million measurements (478,885) were made, of which approximately 80% were analysed. In the first week after the Dick Bruna signs were placed, a small positive effect on the three speed categories was found: the average speed decreased by 0.75 km/h, the V85 by approximately 1.5 km/h and the proportion of drivers exceeding the speed limit decreased by about 5 percentage points. The analyses do not indicate that this effect is different for day and night ('Night' is defined as the period between sunset and sunrise) or for weekday and weekend periods. The analyses indicate that the effect is of limited duration. In the second week after the signs were placed the effect virtually disappeared and in following weeks disappeared completely. Apparently the relatively gentle ' nudge ' is insufficient to change habitual behaviour. It should be noted that the roads that were studied still have room for improvement as regards the credibility of the 30km/h limit. All in all, Dick Bruna signs can contribute to short term speed reduction in traffic, but after an initial 'surprise' or 'awareness’ effect the behavioural effect disappears rather quickly — after about a week or somewhat longer. The conclusion is that the placing of Dick Bruna traffic signs as a standalone measure does not seem to be sufficient to influence drivers’ speed behaviour structurally and in a positive manner.
- Record URL:
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Corporate Authors:
Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Verkeersveiligheid SWOV
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Authors:
- Goldenbeld, C
- Groot-Mesken, J de
- Temürhan, M
- Publication Date: 2017
Media Info
- Features: References;
- Pagination: 41 p.
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Behavior; Risk; Speed; Traffic; Traffic signs; Urban areas
- Identifier Terms: Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Verkeersveiligheid
- Uncontrolled Terms: driver; driving
- Geographic Terms: Netherlands
- ITRD Terms: 9020: Evaluation (assessment); 2247: Reaction (human)
- Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01648165
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: Institute for Road Safety, SWOV
- Report/Paper Numbers: R-2017-11
- Files: ITRD, SWOV
- Created Date: Oct 5 2017 9:38AM