Young people's ideas on speed

The paper discusses the views of three groups of young people who participated in focus groups as part of a local council speed prevention initiative. The young people's ideas on speed and what they regard as speeding are discussed. These young people value speed as a way of 'saving time', as something they feel comfortable with and adequate to handle. They express impatience with 'slow' drivers. Slow drivers were a bigger issue for them than speeding in itself. As with the general community, for some, 10-20 km/h above the limit is considered normal and not regarded as speeding. Speeding is related by them to extreme speeds of 40 km/h and more over the speed limit. They are consequently less aware of the impact of even 5-10 km/h over the speed limit. The focus on speed as thrill seeking, it is argued, displaces the practical issues of speed in urban environments. Young people's relationship with speed is an aspect of driving culture and behaviour that requires attention to more specific driving contexts.