Drivers’ beliefs about exceeding the speed limits

The aim of this study was to examine drivers’ view on their own speeding behaviour by focusing on belief based measures as suggested by the theory of planned behaviour. A sample of car owners (N = 162) completed a questionnaire including both direct and belief based measures of the latent variables in the theory of planned behaviour. The results showed that indices constructed with direct measures of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control made a larger contribution to the prediction of drivers’ intention to exceed the speed limits in both urban and rural environments, than did indices constructed with belief based measures. An extensive set of belief composites was produced and standard multiple regressions showed which of these contributed to the prediction of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control, as well as intention. The use of these findings is discussed.