While every state seems to have its own unspoken rules of the road, in California it appears speeding is the norm.
One in three California drivers say they ignore speed limits "because they believe no one follows them," according to a study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
Additionally, many drivers consider driving 10 miles per hour more than the speed limit as a "routine driving behavior."
"Just because speeding feels normal doesn't mean it's safe, and it can lead to dangerous consequences," Doug Johnson with AAA Mountain West Group said in a video statement.
According to the AAA, speeding accounts for nearly 30% of traffic fatalities.
More than half of Californians surveyed (54%) say keeping up with traffic is safer than obeying speed
limits, a higher share than the national rate of 49%. In addition, more California drivers (35%) classify themselves as "sometimes" speeders than drivers nationwide (30%).
California drivers say they believe speeding saves time and that it as necessary in certain scenarios, including:
- To get around slow drivers (28%)
- To avoid holding up traffic (24%)
- To reach destinations faster (24%)
However, California drivers said they are more likely to slow down in certain situations, including:
- Avoid a speeding ticket (75%)
- Avoiding an accident (72%)
- Bad weather (55%)
- Protecting other road users (50%)
At the same time, California drivers "expressed strong support for safety measures that encourage safer speeds and give drivers choices over those that physically force them to slow down," the report said.
Most California drivers (85%) support increased law enforcement in areas with a history of, or potential for, speed-related collisions. Seventy-four percent also support automated speed cameras in high-risk zones.
Slightly more than half of California drivers (54%) support advisory Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), such as dashboard alerts when exceeding limits. Support for such technology, however, falls to 22% if it actively restricts speed without driver override.
Less than half of California drivers (44%) support speed bumps in their neighborhoods.
In a statement, Todd Burger, AAA Mountain West Group Chief Automotive Officer, urged drivers to heed the speed limit.
"It's a life-saving decision that provides the space and time needed to react to the unexpected," Burger said.
Report's methodology
The foundation's report looked at drivers' attitudes toward speeding using three methods. First, researchers looked at existing studies. Then, they conducted eight focus groups to better understand how people define speeding and how they view efforts to reduce it. Lastly, the foundation said it surveyed more than 16,000 drivers nationwide to get their attitudes toward speeding.
The foundation then examined those perceptions at the state level. For California, the study surveyed a random sample of 1,056 drivers and had a margin of error of +/-3.89 percentage points
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Most Californian drivers view speeding as routine, study finds
