Road safety campaigns need to show motorists that speeding does not lower the time it takes to get somewhere but leads to more accidents and greater injuries.

This is the conclusion of Mark Conner of University of Leeds along with colleagues from University of Manchester, Cardiff University and Napier University. They revealed their findings on Monday 16 July 2007, in the British Journal of Psychology.

They carried out two studies asking people what would make them break the speed limit and then observed their driving. In the first study, 83 drivers aged between 19 and 60-years-old used a driving simulator to drive 22 miles of urban, rural and motorway roads where the speed limits were clearly shown. In the second study, infrared equipment linked to video cameras was used on four real roads.

In both studies, those who exceeded the posted speed limit by 10 or miles per hour did so because they had said they had an intention to speed in advance of getting in their car and because they lacked a 'moral obligation' not to speed. This was consistent whatever the driver's gender, age, driving experience and number of previous accidents. They found that people intended to speed because they believed it would get them to their destination more easily but they also believed it would increase their chances of having an accident and get them stopped by the police.

Professor Conner said: "What is interesting about these studies is that it was the intention to speed - rather than past behaviour - that was the strongest predictor of speeding, closely followed by the lack of moral attitudes towards not speeding. So there is still a need to 'break the habit' of speeding but perhaps not in the way we thought.

"By targeting the underlying beliefs about speeding, such as its potential to create more accidents or attract unwanted police interest, we could begin to change people's intentions to speed."

British Psychological Society