Yadav Ankit Kumar, Velaga Nagendra R
Transportation Systems Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, India.
Traffic Inj Prev. 2021;22(3):201-206. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2021.1893699. Epub 2021 Mar 10.
Speed compliance of drivers plays a significant role in influencing crash risks, and remains a major road safety issue. Majority of the speed compliance behavioral studies have been conducted in the western world; relatively little knowledge is available about the speed compliance of the drivers of developing nations. The present study aims to investigate the speed compliance behavior of Indian drivers in changing driving environment, and to identify the significant predictors influencing their speed compliance.
The driving scenario (consisting of rural and urban driving environments) representing heterogenous Indian driving conditions was designed on a driving simulator where eighty-two licensed drivers completed the driving task. Driver attributes (demographics and driving characteristics) were recorded with the help of a self-reported questionnaire. Speed compliance of drivers was estimated as an indication of the difference of driving speed from the posted speed limit of a particular driving environment, averaged over the duration of driving. The low speed difference indicated better speed compliance of drivers and vice-versa. A Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was developed using speed difference as the dependent variable along with driving environments and driver attributes as predictor variables.
Speed compliance of drivers was found to be better in urban driving environment compared to rural driving environment, indicating that drivers were less able to adapt to the corresponding speed limits in rural environment. Drivers' age was positively associated with the speed compliance. For male drivers, speed compliance was found to be lower than the female drivers. Compared to the drivers who studied till their secondary education, speed compliances of post-graduate and graduate drivers were found to be better. Moreover, driving experience was observed as a negative predictor of speed compliance. Drivers who had prior crash history were found to have better speed compliance compared to the other drivers. Other predictors such as vehicle type and preferred time of driving did not show any significant influence on the speed compliance of drivers.
This is the first exploratory study which investigated the speed compliance behavior of Indian drivers. Findings of the present study may assist the road safety strategies and policy interventions in reducing the speed-related crashes.
驾驶员的速度遵守情况在影响碰撞风险方面起着重要作用，并且仍然是一个主要的道路安全问题。大多数关于速度遵守行为的研究是在西方世界进行的；对于发展中国家驾驶员的速度遵守情况，了解相对较少。本研究旨在调查印度驾驶员在不断变化的驾驶环境中的速度遵守行为，并确定影响其速度遵守的重要预测因素。
在驾驶模拟器上设计了代表印度不同驾驶条件的驾驶场景（包括农村和城市驾驶环境），82名有执照的驾驶员完成了驾驶任务。借助自我报告问卷记录驾驶员属性（人口统计学和驾驶特征）。驾驶员的速度遵守情况通过在驾驶过程中平均计算驾驶速度与特定驾驶环境公布的速度限制之间的差异来估计。速度差异小表明驾驶员速度遵守情况较好，反之亦然。以速度差异为因变量，驾驶环境和驾驶员属性为预测变量，建立了广义线性模型（GLM）。
发现驾驶员在城市驾驶环境中的速度遵守情况比农村驾驶环境更好，这表明驾驶员在农村环境中较难适应相应的速度限制。驾驶员年龄与速度遵守呈正相关。发现男性驾驶员的速度遵守情况低于女性驾驶员。与接受过中等教育的驾驶员相比，研究生和本科驾驶员的速度遵守情况更好。此外，驾驶经验被视为速度遵守的负向预测因素。与其他驾驶员相比，有过撞车历史的驾驶员速度遵守情况更好。车辆类型和偏好的驾驶时间等其他预测因素对驾驶员的速度遵守情况没有显示出任何显著影响。
这是第一项探索印度驾驶员速度遵守行为的研究。本研究的结果可能有助于道路安全策略和政策干预措施减少与速度相关事故的发生。
