Capturing Speeding Behaviour in School Zones Using GPS Technology

Speeding is a significant contributor to crash risk but is a particularly emotive issue in school zones. School zones have high levels of pedestrian activity and a relatively high proportion of children which makes it an especially important area for controlling speeding. However, most of the information we have about speeding comes from targeted police enforcement. There is little information on day-to-day speeding in school zones and even less information on how speeding behavior in school zones varies across time. This paper examines speeding behavior in school zones in Sydney, Australia using global positioning system (GPS), spatial, demographic and psychological data collected from 147 drivers over five weeks. The focus is on both the duration and magnitude of speeding and how differences relate to a number of driver, trip, vehicle and road characteristics. The main findings are that 23 percent of the distance traveled in school zones is above the speed limit, a rate higher than on urban arterials and residential streets. Furthermore, a small minority of drivers exceeded the speed limit for as much as half the distance traveled. These results demonstrate that despite efforts at reducing speeding in school zones and more generally, the practice remains very common. It appears that changing the road environment to force drivers to slow down may be more effective than information campaigns in changing drivers’ speeding behavior.