Speeding behaviour social factors

As David Shinar argues, speed is logically related to mobility—go faster and get there sooner—and subjectively related to pleasure Further, there are pervasive social factors that underpin speed behaviour. 

All of the above limitations have been described in isolation from the effects of the external environment. General environmental conditions such as noise, glare and lighting level, dust and fumes, social environment, etc. will influence the factors which have been described above. For example, noise and high temperature both have an effect on the arousal level. Noise increases it, heat decreases it, and both have an effect on the accuracy of detection of information and the speed of processing it. These physical environmental factors are dealt with in the chapters on Occupational Health and Hygiene. The effects of fatigue and the social environment upon individual behaviour are dealt with here. 

On many highways, only a small minority of drivers obey the legal speed limit. Speeding is the social rule. Is that irrational Yes, it would be if motivations other than safety did not enter into the equation (i.e., finding an optimal balance between the four factors above), but they do, and we view this behaviour of our own and other road users as totally understandable. So, there is nothing irrational about this behaviour despite the increased threat to safety (or health). 

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