Public attitudes to road safety Highlights of the survey Prepared by the Research & Statistics section of the Land Transport Safety Authority. 3
4 Fieldwork conducted for the LTSA by National Research Bureau Ltd.
Foreword The survey of public attitudes to road safety is the latest in a series which began in 1974. Over the last twenty-five years these surveys have tracked changes in New Zealanders' attitudes to road safety issues, reflecting past contributions to road safety management and providing data on which to base future decisions. Since 1995, a major role of the survey has been to measure the effects of high-intensity publicity and enforcement programmes conducted by the LTSA and NZ Police. Road safety is an important issue for all New Zealanders. The effects of death and injury on our roads spread far beyond the individuals directly involved, to families and whole communities. The annual public attitudes surveys are an integral part of the LTSA's ongoing monitoring of New Zealand's road safety performance. The survey results continue to support the comprehensive package of road safety countermeasures which contribute to our improving road safety record. I trust you will find the report useful and informative. Any comments or suggestions on the content of the report should be forwarded to the Research and Statistics section, Land Transport Safety Authority, PO Box 284, Wellington, New Zealand. David Wright Director of Land Transport Safety 5
Introduction The New Zealand Public Attitudes Survey has been undertaken periodically since 1974, and annually since 1994, to evaluate attitudes to road safety issues, primarily alcohol impaired driving and speed. Face-to-face interviews about these issues are conducted in May and June of each year with respondents aged 15 and over in towns, cities and rural areas throughout New Zealand. In, 1645 people were interviewed, including 1438 who held drivers licences. Overview Speed and alcohol are widely acknowledged as major road safety problems and were mentioned as such by 51% and 35% of New Zealanders respectively. The once commonly held attitude that speeding and drink-driving are not risky as long as the driver is careful is gradually losing currency, as the following graph shows. There has been a slight but statistically significant softening in attitudes towards drink-driving in the last year. % agree / strongly agree 3 25 15 5 Not much chance of an accident if careful when... 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999...speeding...driving after drinking There is strong public support for compulsory breath testing (CBT), with 74% of those questioned saying that CBT helps reduce the road toll. Though support for speed cameras has fallen in the last two years, their use is still seen as a useful tool by the majority of New Zealanders. 56% of New Zealanders think that speed cameras help to lower the road toll and 6% agree that they are operated fairly. The level of general enforcement (including speed enforcement other than speed cameras, and safety belt enforcement) is perceived to be relatively low. 6
Attitudes to road safety and enforcement 1. Only 6% of New Zealanders describe road travel in this country as very safe. A further 69% describe it as fairly safe. 2. The majority of New Zealanders would like to see more Police enforcement of road safety laws. 59% think Police effort into catching people who break road safety laws should be increased, and a further 35% think it should be maintained at current levels. Support for harsher penalties for offenders has reduced in recent years, from 5% wanting increased penalties in 1998 to 42% in 1999 and 35% in. This may be a response to new vehicle impoundment and roadside suspension rules introduced just before the 1999 survey was conducted. Very few people were in favour of decreasing police activity (4%) or reducing the severity of penalties (7%). 3. Prior to the introduction of an intensive advertising and enforcement campaign in 1995, 6% of New Zealand adults thought that the amount of road safety advertising should be increased. In May, 4% thought advertising should be increased further and 51% thought advertising levels should remain at current levels. Only one in twelve people thought advertising should be reduced. 4. Only 9% describe the design and standard of the roads they normally use as very safe. A further 73% think their usual roads are fairly safe. Nearly one fifth (18%) of New Zealanders describe the roads they normally use as very or fairly unsafe. This figure ranges between 13 and 23% for residents of all regions except Northland, 4% of whose residents think the roads they use are unsafe. Alcohol-impaired driving 5. When asked what factors made travelling on New Zealand roads unsafe, 35% of all New Zealand adults identify drink driving as a problem. 4% of the young people aged 15 to 24 name it as a problem, and a quarter of those in this age group regard drink driving as the main road safety problem. 6. More than % of New Zealanders still think there is not much chance of an accident when driving after drinking if you are careful. Recognition of the risk of drink driving is now higher among people from rural areas and provincial towns (8% and 7% agree with the above statement) than metropolitan dwellers (13%). 7. Nearly half (46%) of New Zealand adults think the risk of being caught driving after drinking is small. Older adults are more likely than young adults to think the risk is small. 8. Peer pressure and social drinking are strong influences. 36% of New Zealanders (44% of those aged 15-29) say that when drinking with friends it is difficult to drink less than the group, and 33% say it is hard to keep track of what they drink on social occasions. 7
9. Low alcohol beer is seen as a good way to stay under the limit by 38% of men.. The percentage of people who admit to having driven while slightly intoxicated during the 12 months before the survey has fallen in the last six years, from 3% of all drivers (41% of males) in 1995 to 25% (35% of males) in. 11. People who said they'd driven while slightly intoxicated were more likely than others to say they enjoyed driving fast, and to have had a speeding ticket in the last year. 12. Fewer people than in previous years think penalties are not very severe even if a driver is caught drink driving 51% of New Zealand adults in and 5% in 1999 compared to 57% in 1998. 13. 6% think that New Zealand s drink-driving laws are effective at reducing the road toll. Compulsory breath testing 14. Three quarters of New Zealand adults agree that CBT helps lower the road toll. 15. However, two thirds said that they seldom saw checkpoints except during blitzes and one fifth believe that some people are not tested at checkpoints even when they are probably over the limit. A third of New Zealanders think that checkpoints are easily avoided. 16. Only 11% of New Zealanders would expect to be stopped and breath-tested if drink-driving on a rural road. This is low compared with the perceived risk of being caught in a city (57%) or on a major road (36%). There has been an increase in perceived enforcement levels in small towns - in, 31% said they would expect to be stopped in a small town compared to 26% in 1999. % likely/ very likely 6 5 4 3 Chance of being stopped and tested if drinkdriving in.. 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 large city major highway small town rural road 17. 39% of all New Zealand adults think that they can tell where checkpoints will be. One quarter still use the back streets to avoid checkpoints when they think they might be over the limit, though this has decreased from 35% in 1995. Young 8
people aged 15-24 are more likely to try to dodge checkpoints (35% say they use the back streets when over the limit). 18. Just over 4% of licensed drivers (59% of Auckland drivers) reported having been stopped at an alcohol checkpoint during the preceding 12 months. Of these, 9% remembered being asked to speak into a passive alcohol sensor. 19. Retaining the current blood alcohol limit of 8mg/ ml is the most popular option (favoured by 48% of New Zealanders). 29% of New Zealanders think the limit should be lowered to 5mg/ml and a further % think it should be lowered to zero. Only 6% want a higher limit. 1. The perceived risk of being caught drink driving at night has increased over the last five years. The percentage of people who think that being caught if drink-driving between midnight and 2am was likely or very likely rose from 31% in 1995 to 41% in, and from 44% to 53% in the pm-midnight slot over the same period. There was a similar increase from 17% in 1995 to 23% in for the 2am-8am time slot. However, only one in ten people think they would be likely to be stopped and breath tested if they were drink-driving during the day. % likely/ very likely 6 5 4 3 Chance of being stopped and tested if drink-driving during... 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999..pm-midnight..midnight-2am..6pm-pm..2am-8am..day (8am-6pm) 1 7% were undecided or had no opinion on this issue. 9
Speed 21. When asked what factors make travelling on New Zealand roads unsafe, just over half spontaneously mentioned speeding. One fifth identified speed as the main factor that made New Zealand roads unsafe. Factors making travelling on NZ roads unsafe: speed % respondents 6 5 Mentioned at all 4 3 Main factor 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 22. Despite this recognition of speed as a major road safety issue, the speeding culture is still strong. 46% of male drivers and 34% of females say that they enjoy driving fast on the open road, and 24% of males agree that there isn t much chance of an accident when speeding if you are careful. 23. Three quarters of New Zealand adults agree that enforcing the speed limit helps to reduce the road toll. However, 41% think that the risk of being caught speeding is small. This perception has remained unchanged for several years. 24. Fewer New Zealanders now believe that penalties for speeding are not very severe. In 1997, 38% of people agreed with this statement, but by this had reduced to 31%. 25. Young drivers were most likely to report having had a speeding ticket in the previous year. 17% of all drivers, and 26% of young drivers aged 15-24, reported receiving at least one speeding ticket in the previous year. 26. Most people find extremely high speeds unacceptable. 85% described automatic loss of licence for drivers caught speeding at 15 km/h on the open road as fair or very fair. Speeding in an urban area was regarded equally unfavourably; 88% supported loss of licence for speeding at 9 km/h in a 5 km/h zone. Two thirds of New Zealanders think automatic loss of licence for three speeding tickets in a year is fair or very fair. 27. Support for retaining speed limits at current levels is high (71% for open roads and 75% for 5 km/h zones). The majority think that speed limits for the roads they normally use are about right. % think speed limits on their usual roads are too low and 6% think they are too high. More than half would like to see additional 6
km/h and 8 km/h speed limits for some roads. These speed limits have been introduced in some areas over the last five years. Speed cameras 28. Support for speed cameras has reduced slightly in the last two years. 56% of New Zealanders agree that the use of speed cameras helps lower the road toll and 6% think that they are operated fairly (compared to 68% and 7% in 1998 respectively). More people than previously think speed cameras should always be in view (3% in compared to 24% in 1999). 17% think speed cameras should always be hidden, with the majority of people supporting a mixture of the two modes. 29. More people think that they would be likely to receive a ticket from a speed camera than from a police officer. For instance, when driving at 1km/h, 81% would expect to receive a ticket from a speed camera but only 54% from a Police officer if one was present. Expectation of being ticketed by Police at speeds of 1 km/h and over has returned to 1998 levels after an increase in 1999. Chance of receiving a speeding ticket if passing a... % high/ very high 8 6 4..speed camera..police officer 5 1 115 1 125 13 data; N=8 Speed (km/h) General enforcement and compliance 3. Only 26% of New Zealanders think they would be likely to be stopped by Police for traffic offences other than drink driving or speeding. 31. Most New Zealanders approve of vehicle impoundment for disqualified or repeated unlicensed driving. 88% said that they thought this was fair or very fair. 32. 96% of driver said that they always or mostly carry their licence while driving a private vehicle. Most drivers (81%) were already doing this in 1998, before licence carriage became mandatory. 11
Safety belts and child restraints 33. Almost all New Zealanders (95%) agree that safety belts are effective in reducing the road toll. 34. The level of restraint enforcement is generally perceived to be low. Just over a quarter think a driver or front seat passenger without a safety belt is likely to be caught, and only one in eight would expect to be caught if travelling in a rear seat without a safety belt. 35. Levels of child restraint enforcement are seen as higher than for adult safety belt use. 41% think there is a high chance of being stopped if travelling with an unrestrained child in the front seat, but only 26% if the child is in the back seat. 36. Over a third of New Zealanders still think penalties for not wearing a safety belt are not very severe. However the perception that penalties are not very severe has become less widespread in recent years, from 48% in 1997 to 37% in. 37. Reported safety belt use is higher than in previous years. Only 7% said that they often or always drove without a safety belt on short trips, compared with % in 1998 and 17% in 1995. The number of drivers who said that they seldom wore a safety belt even when travelling on the open road has fallen in recent years, from % in 1995 to only 2% in. Males, rural drivers and drivers aged -29 were most likely to report regularly driving without a safety belt. % often/ always fail to wear safety belt 18 16 14 12 8 6 4 2 Percentage who often/ always fail to wear a safety belt when.. 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999..back seat passenger..driving - short trip..driving around town..driving on the open road 12
Appendix A