Perception is big, it rules the way we behave to a large degree.
For example, if the perception is that it’s OK to speed, then we find it acceptable.
A Safely Home survey of 2018/19 found that for many, speeds of 140km/h on highways was found to be acceptable.
Included in the reasons for speeding were that people perceived the chance of crashing as low, that going fast is a thrill and that they were catching up on time to reach a destination.
Notably, many young men regarded speeding as skillful, manly although dangerous. And it is, kind of, but only on the track. On the road, it’s the opposite.
It’s just these perceptions that we need to change, in the way we talk about speeding, in what we consider to be ‘manly’ and the messages we give our children. The change begins with you.