53 percent of drivers admit to excessive speed

More than half of Israel's drivers drive above the speed limit.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
More than half of Israel's drivers admit that they drive faster than permitted by law and almost a third admit to driving more than 15 kilometers per hour above the speed limit, a survey by Hod Hasharon's Or Yarok (Green Light) road safety organization has found. And the survey found that despite the high number of those who admitted to speeding, only four percent said they had been caught doing so by police over the past year, reports www.local.co.il. According to the report, the survey questioned 1,000 drivers around the country and found that 53% admitted to driving faster than permitted, while 47% said they did not speed. Some 22% of drivers said they drove at speeds up to 15 kmh above the speed limit, while 31% said they drove at more than 15 kmh above the speed limit. Speeding drivers were predominantly unmarried men aged 17 to 34, with women and older people having a far lower rate of speeding. The report said that excessive speed is one of the major causes of serious car accidents, lowering the chances of avoiding a collision and increasing the damage caused in any accident. The survey found that in general drivers in northern Israel, Jerusalem and the Sharon area were more careful about staying within permitted speed limits than drivers in other areas. The report said that many drivers seemed to feel that driving at less than 15 kmh above the speed limit was "legitimate," and that 55% of drivers thought the speed limits on inter-city highways should be increased. Twenty percent of those surveyed admitted that they had exceeded the 110 kmh limit on the Trans-Israel Highway (Kvish 6).