Organisation: Department for Transport
Date uploaded: 13th February 2017
Date published/launched: January 2017
The British Social Attitudes Survey for 2015 does however show that there are 10% who still believe that the use of hand-held mobiles while driving isn’t dangerous. 48% of respondents agreed that all mobile phones are dangerous when driving.
The Government has been conducting the survey, which measures people’s attitudes to transport, since 1996.
In terms of speed cameras, the survey results show that nearly half of respondents think speed cameras are mostly there to make money, with 33% saying there are too many of them. However, the number of respondents agreeing with these statements has fallen to its lowest level in the last decade.
Shifting the focus onto traffic calming measures, while those aged 65 years or older are most likely to support closing residential streets to through traffic, or introducing 20mph zones, support for speed bumps declines progressively with age.
The report scopes wider than just road safety, with a focus on travel behaviours and willingness to change mode of travel. For journeys of less than two miles travelled by car, 44% of respondents said they could just as easily walk, cycle (39%) or take the bus (31%).
That said, 64% of respondents said it is too dangerous for them to cycle on the road, the same level as in 2014. Women, non-cyclists and older age groups showed higher levels
of cycling safety concerns, while male respondents said they were more likely to switch to cycling for short journeys.
The report also canvassed respondents’ views on congestion and exhaust fumes. 37% considered congestion on motorways to be a serious problem, compared with a low of 22% in 2011; while 60% considered exhaust fumes in towns to be a serious problem, up from a low of 44% in 2012. 74% of respondents said that when they next purchase a car, they would be willing to buy one with lower CO2 emissions.
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