Decision Research, Eugene, OR 97401, USA.
Accid Anal Prev. 2012 Mar;45:487-92. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2011.08.015. Epub 2011 Sep 28.
The purpose of speed limits is to keep driving speed low enough for drivers to be able to pay attention to relevant information and timely execute maneuvers so that the car can be driven in a safe way and stopped in time. If a driver violates a speed limit or drives too fast she or he will not be able to stop as quickly as from a slower speed. We asked participants to imagine that they themselves had driven a car outside a school at a speed of 30 km/h when a child suddenly had rushed into the street. From this speed it was possible to stop the car just in front of the child after braking as quickly and forcefully as possible. We then asked the participants to imagine that they drove the same street at a higher speed of 50 km/h and the child appeared at the same place as before. At what speed would the car hit the child after braking in the same way as before? This kind of problems were presented in three studies and the results showed that the judged speeds of collision were always underestimated in different hypothetical driving context scenarios by judges differing in numerical skills. This indicates an overly optimistic view on the possibilities to reduce speed quickly if the driving speed is too fast, which is an important component of attitudes towards speed limits, their legitimacy and recommended driving speeds. Further implications of the results were discussed last.
限速的目的是使驾驶速度足够低，以便驾驶员能够关注相关信息并及时执行操作，从而安全地驾驶车辆并及时停车。如果驾驶员违反限速或超速行驶，那么她或他将无法像从较慢速度那样快速停车。我们要求参与者想象自己以 30 公里/小时的速度在学校外开车，此时一个孩子突然冲入街道。从这个速度开始，在尽可能快速和有力地刹车后，仅在孩子面前停车是有可能的。然后，我们要求参与者想象自己以 50 公里/小时的更高速度在同一条街道上行驶，并且孩子出现在与之前相同的位置。在以相同的方式刹车后，汽车将以多快的速度撞上孩子？在三个研究中提出了这种类型的问题，结果表明，在不同的假设驾驶情境场景中，不同数字技能的裁判总是低估碰撞的判断速度。这表明，如果驾驶速度过快，驾驶员过快减速的可能性过于乐观，这是对限速、其合法性和推荐驾驶速度的态度的重要组成部分。最后讨论了结果的进一步影响。
