Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 9 (2021) 100279

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Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/trip

Identifying salient beliefs underlying speeding behaviour: An elicitation

study of nigerian drivers
Anderson Etika a,⇑, Natasha Merat b, Oliver Carsten b
a
Department of Civil Engineering, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Nigeria
b
Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Using the Theory of Planned behaviour, as a theoretical framework, the current study sought to identify the
Theory of planned behaviour salient beliefs underpinning speeding behaviour among commercial drivers in Nigeria. A sample of 13 drivers
Speeding behaviour participated in one of three focus group discussions. Deductive content analysis revealed that although speed-
Salient Beliefs ing was perceived as an adverse behaviour with negative consequences (e.g. loss of life and properties) across
all groups, participants still believed the behaviour was significant (e.g. journey time reduction) in their day‐to‐
day life. The study also revealed that male peers were more likely to encourage speeding, while family mem-
bers, employers, and enforcement agencies were the important others who will disapprove of it. For control
beliefs, the findings revealed that situational and environmental factors such as; personal emergencies and
good road networks facilitate engagement in the behaviour while poor weather and heavy traffic served as
impediments. In conclusion, practical implications and strategies for the development of speed awareness inter-
ventions are discussed.

1. Introduction tions that target salient variables that are likely to influence driver
behaviour.
There are an estimated 1.35 million road traffic deaths globally
each year. In addition to these deaths, an estimated 50 million people
are injured in road crashes annually. (WHO, 2018). Road traffic 2. Theoretical background and context of the current study
crashes are usually as a result of many interacting factors; however,
the human factor is estimated to account for over 90% of all causes To develop effective speeding interventions, it is important to
of traffic crashes (Pakgohar, 2007). understand the mechanisms by which driver speeding behaviour is
Speeding (speed limit violation and inappropriate speed) is consid- influenced. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) pro-
ered the biggest contributor to road traffic crash occurrences and vides one of the most important accounts of behaviour in social beha-
severity. Despite the enormous evidence of the relationship between vioural research, and so potentially provides a framework for the
speeding and crash risk and severity (Fildes and Lee, 1993; Aarts development of countermeasures. The TPB model (Ajzen, 1991), posits
and Schagen, 2006), the behaviour continues to be prevalent among that volitional behaviour is to a large extent, predicted by intention
drivers across the world. Most traditional road safety educational (summaries of people’s motivation to engage in a behaviour), and that
interventions designed to change driver speeding behaviours have three sets of beliefs mediates behavioural intentions. These beliefs
mostly been based on raising awareness and are usually hinged on include: (i) behavioural beliefs, i.e. beliefs about the consequences of
intuition rather than being grounded in theoretical frameworks performing a behaviour, (ii) normative beliefs, i.e. beliefs about the
(Parker, 2002). According to Elliott and Armitage (2006), these inter- views of significant others, and (iii) control beliefs, i.e. beliefs about
ventions are not always able to translate the good intentions generated the factors that facilitate or impede the performance of a behaviour)
into action, as a result of their limited impacts on the behaviour. (Ajzen, 1991).
Therefore, there is a need to develop effective theory‐driven interven- Previous research has highlighted the use of the TPB model in the
development of countermeasures aimed at improving speeding beha-
viour (Parker et al., 1996; Stead et al., 2005; Elliot and Armitage,

⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Etika).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2020.100279
Received 2 August 2020; Revised 6 December 2020; Accepted 6 December 2020
Available online 15 December 2020
2590-1982/© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
A. Etika et al. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 9 (2021) 100279

2009). For example, Parker et al. (1996), used series of persuasive traffic crashes in Nigeria representing 58.9% of crashes (Federal
videos to assess the effectiveness of an intervention grounded in the Road Safety Corps, 2017).
TPB model. Results indicated that the normative belief video (de-
signed to convey to the participants the message that people do not 3. Methods
like being driven by someone who exceeds the 30 mph (48 km/h)
speed limit in residential zones) brought about statistically significant 3.1. Participants
belief changes with respect to scores on TPB items and significant
changes in general attitudes toward speeding. The effect of the control Ethical approval was given by the University of Leeds Research
belief video (designed to persuade participants that the driver can con- Ethics Committee with reference: AREA 16–011, and written consent
trol his or her own behaviour, despite pressures to speed from other was obtained from the study participants. The sampling frame con-
motorist, and that it is therefore possible to keep to the speed limit) sisted of 13 male drivers randomly recruited from fleet companies in
was in the opposite direction, i.e. participants who saw the video, the city of Port Harcourt in River State, Nigeria and within the age
reported that it would be difficult to keep to the speed limit in such range of 30–65 years. Inclusion criteria were: (i) Driving a work vehi-
a situation. The behavioural belief video (designed to show the pres- cle at least once a week, (ii) Ownership of a valid driver’s licence, (iii)
ence of hazards in seemingly harmless roads and to show that by keep- Report of over 5,000 km annual mileage.
ing to the 30 mph (48 km/h) speed limit, they will increase their
chances of being able to deal with whatever hazards do arises) had 3.2. Data collection
no measurable effect on attitude or beliefs. The Scottish “Foolspeed”
study by Stead et al. (2005), used a series of speed awareness media Semi‐structured interview scheduled based on the instructions of
campaigns based on the concepts of the TPB model. Their results Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), were designed to guide the three focus
showed only the behavioural belief intervention had significant group discussions. Questions were aimed at exploring participants cog-
changes in the desired direction with no changes found for the norma- nitive and affective behavioural beliefs, normative beliefs, and control
tive and control beliefs intervention. According to Lewis et al. (2013), beliefs towards speeding (excessive speed and speed limit compli-
the relatively low performance of the above TPB‐based interventions ance). Discussions were audio‐recorded with participants permission
could be as a result of the interventions relying on only one message and lasted between 55 and 60 min. To minimise bias, participants
to target each of the TPB’s three components and as such may have were assured of the confidentiality of their responses. The topic guide
achieved different results. included the following prompts to elicit participants views and beliefs:
According to Ajzen and Fishbein (1980); Ajzen (2006), behavioural (i) Instrumental beliefs; participants were asked questions about the
interventions that seek to change beliefs that guide the performance of advantages and disadvantages of speeding. (ii) Affective beliefs; partic-
the behaviour, must first identify specific salient beliefs from sample ipants were asked to list what they like/enjoy and dislike/hate about
respondents that are representative of the population of interest. Sali- speeding. (iii) Normative beliefs; participants were asked which groups
ent beliefs help in the prediction and understanding of attitudes and or people would approve or disapprove of their speeding behaviour
indicate what might be useful for interventions to change behaviour (iv) Control beliefs; participants were asked what factors or circum-
(Ferguson et al., 2009). These salient beliefs are those that first come stances will make it difficult or easy for them to engage in speeding.
to mind when participants are asked open‐ended questions and are (V) Intention; participants were asked if they thought they will engage
also referred to as accessible beliefs (Ajzen and Fishbein, 2000). in speeding in the future. Discussions continued until theoretical satu-
According Abdul et al. (2012), the more researchers understand ration (i.e. a point were no new information or belief was being raised)
these beliefs, the more likely effective interventions are developed. was reached. At the end of the discussions, participants were thanked
These beliefs can be elicited through a series of open‐ended questions, for their time and contribution and light refreshment offered.
with responses undergoing content analysis and then using the most
frequently cited beliefs in the final intervention (Ajzen and Fishbein, 3.3. Data analysis
2000). The assumption is that if a belief is not mentioned, it is not sali-
ent, as only accessible beliefs in memory or those mentioned early are Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and coded using a data
considered as salient (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). However, despite matrix by grouping participant's responses about speeding into each of
plenty of support for the TPB and the importance of salient beliefs in the relevant beliefs in relation to the underlying TPB model. Most fre-
the model, there are arguments that the belief elicitation stage in quently beliefs were indexed and mapped based on the recurring
TPB‐based intervention has received relatively little attention from beliefs. Each of these beliefs is discussed together with supporting
researchers (Sutton et al., 2003). Also, despite the demonstrated effi- statements in the form of quotes from participants. The data were anal-
cacy of the TPB in predicting drivers speeding behaviour and its use ysed using Deductive Content Analysis (DCA), which is a systematic
in the development of interventions, there has been limited research and objective means of describing phenomena (Krippendorff, 1980).
in low‐and‐middle‐income countries particularly in Sub‐Saharan It involves a structured matrix development whereby all data are
Africa. Previous studies have mostly been done in high‐income coun- reviewed for content and coded for correspondence to the identified
tries (HICs) with similar road‐safety cultures and driving styles. categories. Table 1 shows elicited beliefs by participants within each
According to Fishbein and Manfredo (1992), people’s beliefs about of the TPB model constructs. Only salient modal beliefs (i.e. most com-
behaviour will always vary and more importantly, from population monly cited beliefs) are listed following Ajzen & Fishbein (1980) rule
to population, as beliefs cannot be assumed to be transferable among of including; ten or twelve most frequently mentioned beliefs (a prac-
different populations. Thus, it will be valuable to identify the salient tice that is likely to include at least some of the beliefs mentioned by
beliefs underlying speeding behaviour in a country like Nigeria giving each respondent in the sample), beliefs mentioned by at least 10–20%
the sheer quantity of road crashes and fatalities. of the sample population and choosing as many beliefs as necessary to
The current study was conducted as part of a larger study based on account for up to 75% percentage of all beliefs elicited.
the TPB model that explored the use of the model in developing a
speed‐limit compliance intervention for commercial drivers in Nigeria 4. Results
(only findings relevant to the elicitation phase are discussed here,
details of the larger study are discussed in a separate work). The choice The results are presented according to the TPB model constructs.
of commercial drivers is based on their over‐representation in road Verbatim quotes from the study participants are labelled to the order

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A. Etika et al. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 9 (2021) 100279

Table 1
Salient accessible beliefs.

BEHAVIOURAL BELIEFS

Positive Cognitive evaluation Negative Cognitive evaluation Positive Affective Evaluation Negative Affective
Evaluation
Reduced journey times Helps me reach my destination It causes accidents and fatalities. It causes damage to It thrills me (it is fun and It pricks my
faster. Helps me in time of personal emergencies. vehicles and properties. It uses more fuel, hence causing exciting) It helps keeps me conscience It makes
Saves my life in times of security threats. harm to the environment. Puts other road users at risk It awake and alert. It helps me me nervous Being
makes it hard for me to quickly stop my vehicles when arrive on time scared of crashing
there is an obstacle on the road.
NORMATIVE BELIEFS
Approval Disapproval
Male friends and peers Family members/Children Employer Road safety
authority
CONTROL BELIEFS
Impediments Facilitates
Driving in heavy traffic Driving in poor weather When Driving on good roads Driving in low traffic Being late or
driving with passengers who want me to drive slowly in a hurry Having personal emergencies When driving a
Driving inbuilt areas Driving in curvy roads Presence “sound” vehicle When driving on a wide and straights
of police or road safety officers Presence of speed road
bumps
INTENTION
If there is a need or a reason, I would exceed If there is an
emergency I will speed will speed unintentionally if
excited When I don’t know the speed limit I will speed.

in which the participant had first spoken in the discussions and the “Whenever I am speeding, particularly when I have my family with me,
group number. For example, the third participant to speak in the sec- there is always that fear of a crash happening. Sometimes thoughts of not
ond focus group would be identified as (P3, 2). Table 1 presents the seeing my family again come to my mind” (P4, 2).
most frequently mentioned beliefs by participants within each of the “Speeding naturally makes me nervous or scared. That is why I rarely
TPB model belief categories. Beliefs mentioned by only one or two par- speed except there is great need” (P4, 1)
ticipants are not reported.

4.2. Normative beliefs

4.1. Behavioural beliefs
Across all focus groups, male friends and peers were cited as the
Participants across all groups were aware of, and broadly endorsed most significant others who approve of their speeding.
that there were consequences of speeding. In terms of the positive cog- “ I have a male cousin who by default always speeds. When you drive
nitive outcome of speeding, four beliefs emerged. Getting to a destina- with him and some of my friends and you are not speeding, the next thing
tion faster and reduced journey time was the most cited: is they ask you to pull over for them to take over the driving” (P2, 3)
“The advantage of speeding is that, when you speed up, you save some “Most of my friends do not see driving at 110–120 km/h as speeding.
time, you get to where you are going on time” (P2, 3) Speeding to them is when you begin to hit 130 km/h and above” (P1, 2)
Other perceived cognitive advantages of speeding were in times of When participants were asked to nominate persons who they
personal emergencies and security threats: thought will disapprove of their speeding, across all focus groups,
“I would speed if a family member (e.g.my kid) has a medical emer- the most frequent response include family member; particularly wife’s
gency” (P5, 3) and elder relations.
“I sometimes speed on routes that I think are not safe. E.g. I tend to speed “When I drive with my elder brother it is always boring as he wants me
along the East‐West road due to the number of arm robberies on that route” to drive a maximum 70–80 km. It gets me sick sometimes” (P1, 3)
(P3, 1) “Sometimes my passengers do not approve of my speeding; for Example,
Five negative cognitive outcomes were elicited; however, cause of my wife and family members tend to stop me from speeding by telling me to
crashes and fatalities was the most elicited belief: slow down” (P2, 3)
“Speeding is a major cause of ghastly car accidents and deaths. Other identified important others who disapprove of speeding
Your life, the passengers life’s and the life of other motorist are greatly include; employers and road safety officers.
in danger when speeding” (P3,2) “speeding is a no‐no in my job. You will be penalized if your records
“The expenses are higher on high speed; Human life is at stake, the tear show you have driven above the speed limit over a given time” (P4, 2)
and wear of the car are higher, you even use more fuel when you speed. In Other sources of social influence that were mentioned were often
short, the more the speed the faster the aging of the car” (P1, 1) along the vague lines and such do not represent salient social pressure
Participants in the current study elicited a range of perceived pos- consistent with normative beliefs.
itive affective outcomes of speeding:
“In addition to testing the strength of my car, there is fun in speeding, it is
more of a challenge when you are driving, and someone drives past you. 4.3. Control beliefs
You pick up the challenge of passing this person, or my car is better than
his car. If I drive slowly on long‐distance journeys, I tend to fall asleep. The participants in the study cited several perceived facilitators to
Am usually more alert when am driving fast” (P4, 3) speeding behaviour. Driving on good road networks was the most fre-
Specific negative affective outcomes of speeding were not men- quently mentioned facilitator of speeding.
tioned spontaneously (i.e. without prompting) by any of the study par- “When the road is good and there is less traffic I sometimes speed more”
ticipants. However, on prompting the following were cited: (P3, 2)

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Other beliefs elicited that facilitate speeding include; driving in low to strategies for reducing speeding when faced with life‐threatening
traffic, driving on straight and wide roads, being in a hurry or being personal emergencies (e.g. when family members need medical help
late, and driving when faced with personal emergencies. or when attacked or tailgated by criminals). It is important to note that
“At night when the traffic is all gone, it becomes much easier to speed. there is poor delivery of emergency services in most low‐income coun-
Sometimes it is a complete contrast of daytime driving” (P2, 1) tries like Nigeria, leaving individuals to drive themselves to hospitals
Driving in congested roads and poor weather was the most elicited in emergencies. Also due to poor security situations in most of these
impediment to speeding. countries, some routes are bedevilled with miscreants. However, a per-
“It is hard to speed when there is congestion or in‐built areas” (P4, 3) tinent issue to note is for interventions to recognize and challenge the
“Speeding when it rains can be dangerous. One is most times required to perception that driving above the speed limit under such conditions of
slow down when the road becomes slippery or when you can see clearly in heightened emotions saves time. Emphasis should be made on the
the rains” (P2, 2) increased risk of having a collision which would eliminate the benefits.
Also, interventions can stress the overestimation of time saved from
speeding.
4.4. Intention
It is notable that the risk of crash and loss of life was the most eli-
cited disadvantage of speeding by participants in this study. Thus, it
Participant’s motivation to speed was elicited by directly asking
may be relevant for anti‐speeding interventions to depict the trauma
respondents if they intended to perform the behaviour in the future.
a driver causes to other people when life is lost in a crash and the mon-
Most of the participants expressed their intention to comply with the
etary cost to themselves. Also, giving the strong perception of damage
speed limits. However, some participants gave instances where they
to the vehicle and properties as an undesirable outcome of speeding by
will speed ranging from personal emergencies to unintentional
participants in this study, speeding interventions can also show the
speeding.
consequences of losing one’s vehicle or damaging another person’s
“I might be compelled to speed by circumstances. Even though I don’t
vehicle or properties through the stress of missing a bus or taxi (loss
want to, or even don’t like it, but I could be compelled if there is a need
of freedom/control over ones travel decisions) or having to pay high
for me to get out of a place fast, I will move fast“ (P4, 1)
insurance, and in Nigeria where car insurance is not very common,
“The truth is that in Nigeria the absence of road signs creates a lot of
having to pay for the repair or purchase of another person’s car and
confusion among drivers. Because if you are travelling on a road that is well
your car as well.
signalised with the speed limit, any time I see the speed limit it enters my
In relation to normative beliefs, study participants identified male
consciousness and it guides me. But since we have too many potholes on
peers and friends were more likely to support and encourage speeding
our road, the slightest chance of good road, I will speed to make up for lost
while family members and employers were less likely to encourage
time” (P1, 3)
speeding. This finding is comparable to previous studies by Horvath
et al. (2012); Elliott et al. (2005). Speeding intervention could highlight
5. Discussion family members or close ones who have died or got injured as a result of
speeding (Lewis et al., 2013). Interventions could highlight the fear and
Reduced journey time and fast arrival at destinations were the most consequences of losing one’s job due to speed limit violations.
elicited advantages of speeding in this study. This finding has also The exploration of control beliefs arising from the findings
been identified by previous studies (e.g. Lewis et al., 2013; Ferguson revealed, good road network and night‐time driving as the most eli-
et al., 2009), and thus suggest the need for speed limits compliance cited factors that ease speeding. These findings suggest that partici-
interventions in Nigeria to raise drivers’ awareness of the mispercep- pants in the current study hold the perception that they are in
tion of time saved from speeding. According to Regan et al. (2007), control of their speeding behaviour when the conditions seem safe.
interventions should send a message that speed does not represent a This finding is broadly consistent with previous studies (Ferguson
means to save or make up time and highlight the need for better time et al., 2009). According to Lewis et al. (2013), “such (mis)perception
planning strategies by drivers. could be challenged by a message that illustrates how things can go wrong,
Other major advantages of speeding identified were the perceived even when conditions are seemingly safe”. This will involve interventions
excitement and fun and the perceived increase in alertness. The find- highlighting the unpredictability of some circumstances, and the need
ing reflects the perception that speeding increases enjoyment and for drivers to give themselves the best chance to remain in control by
removes boredom when driving. The perceived benefit from speeding not speeding. The use of in‐vehicle speed monitoring devices such as
in terms of fun and supposed heightened situation awareness has been intelligent speed adaptation devices (ISA) may serve as a potential
identified by previous studies (Abdul et al., 2012; Horvath et al., 2012; strategy for increasing drivers’ control of the behaviour, especially in
Lewis et al., 2013). Thus, speeding interventions that aim to modify conditions that appear relatively safe to them.
such beliefs should emphasise on the thrill‐seeking personalities of dri- The most frequently elicited barrier to speeding by participants in
ver’s and how this influences their driving. Beliefs that speeding is fun the current study include driving in congested roads and poor weather.
and enjoyable may be addressed with counter examples in which risk‐ Again, it can be argued that such a perception is motivated by circum-
taking leads to negative consequences such as unattractive damage to stances rather than underlying beliefs and values. Therefore, an inter-
cars and likely loss of life, and disapproval from family (Rowe et al., vention can emphasise on drivers’ perceptions of personal control over
2016). Also, interventions could highlight compliance with speed limit their ability to drive within posted limits or driving within prevailing
put driver’s in more control and makes them more attentive and mind- conditions.
ful of the driving situation (Abdul et al., 2012; Lewis et al., 2013). Participants comments on future intention to speed reflects the
Participants in the current study reported speeding as a positive effect of circumstances and situations on a driver’s perception of
outcome in times of personal emergencies and security threats. The speeding. Even though the participants in the study have all cited
above finding may suggest that some of the identified beliefs are moti- the negative consequence of speeding, they still believe certain cir-
vated by circumstances rather than underlying beliefs and values. The cumstances allow for speeding.
probable strategy for behavioural change of such perceptions would be The novel findings from the current study are the underlying belief
through enforcements. However, with limited or no enforcement of that speeding is a lifeline in times of personal emergencies and security
speed limits violations in Nigeria, there may be limited options for threats, and that the availability of a good road network is a facilitator
designing speeding interventions for such beliefs. However, even for the behaviour. These findings show that people’s beliefs are some-
though it is beyond the scope of this study to review evidence relating times influenced by many factors and can either be personal or envi-

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A. Etika et al. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives 9 (2021) 100279

ronmental (Curtis et al., 2010). Speeding behaviour may appear to be ‐ original draft. Natasha Merat: Funding acquisition, Methodology.
similar among the different populations, however, some underlying Oliver Carsten: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition,
beliefs and perceptions towards the behaviour are usually different Methodology.
and appear to be affected by the target population and location. This
can be seen in findings from this study revealing some evident differ- Acknowledgement
ences in beliefs with past studies. For example, the believe that speed-
ing helped participants in times of personal emergencies or security Appreciation to the Cross River University of Technology, Calabar,
threats (“In my understanding, the advantages of speeding depend on the Nigeria (through its Tertiary Education Trust Fund intervention), and
environment you find yourself. If you are on emergency e.g. a medical the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, the UK for
emergency or if you driving on a dangerous road you have to speed for secu- funding my Ph.D. studies of which this project is part of.
rity purpose to avoid being attacked by bandits or thieves” (P2, 2), or they
speed mostly when the road infrastructures are good (“When the road is References
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CRediT authorship contribution statement World Health Organization., 2018. Global Status report on road safety, Geneva.

Anderson Etika: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analy-

sis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Project administration, Writing