Changes Over Time in the Risk of Apprehension for Traffic Law Violations

The risk of apprehension when violating road traffic law has been estimated by speeding, drunken driving, drugged driving non-wearing of seat belts, violations of hours of service and rest regulations, and use of hand held mobile phones when driving. The risk of apprehension is stated as the number of drivers apprehended per million kilometres of illegal driving, i.e. driving performed while committing one of the violations listed above. The risk of apprehension is highest for drunken driving and hours of service and rest violations. Changes over time in the risk of apprehension are uncertain. However, the risk of apprehension appears to have increased by non-wearing of seat belts and hours of service and rest violations. It has been reduced for drunken driving. With respect to speeding, the risk of apprehension appears to have increased in recent years, but this is fully attributable to an increased use of speed cameras. A survey suggests that drivers overestimate the risk of apprehension for speeding.