Accelerating risk: a qualitative evidence synthesis on facilitators and barriers to speeding

Road traffic crashes are a global public health problem. A major risk factor is speeding as it contributes to 15%-35% of all road injury deaths. Despite legal mandates, ensuring compliance to speed limits by road users remains a challenge. We aimed to synthesise qualitative evidence on the barriers to, and facilitators of, motor vehicle speeding using a critical realist lens.

We searched multiple electronic databases (Medline, EMBASE, Scopus and SafetyLit) for qualitative studies published on or after 2000 on speeding of motor vehicles. We conducted data screening using Rayyan, manually searched the reference list of included studies and assessed their quality with the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist. Thematic analysis was undertaken using NVivo.

We identified 5103 articles and found 14 that met our eligibility criteria. Our synthesis identified four main themes, namely: (1) Perceived risk for road crash injuries and safety considerations varied between different demographic groups, (2) Speeding behaviour of the driver was dependent on the presence and type of vehicle occupants, (3) Driver decision to speed varied significantly between different road types and (4) Drivers' perception varied on the effectiveness of law enforcement and other regulatory measures in addressing speeding.

Our review provides insights into the diverse influences that contribute to speeding behaviours. Understanding such underlying factors is a formative step towards the development of theory-driven targeted interventions and strategies to mitigate speeding-related risks and enhance road safety on a global scale.