Advantages and Challenges of a Video-Based Experiment to Investigate Drivers’ Speed Choice at Work Zones

This paper reports part of a larger study conducted in Norway about speed choice at roadworks. The method utilized was four videos of real work zones. One urban road and one rural road were filmed at two different moments – with and without visible roadwork activity. Participants were invited to take part in the study by e-mail. A total of 815 drivers watched the videos and answered an online questionnaire. After watching the videos, they were asked to state their preferred speed and reasonable speed limit for each road depicted on the video. Background variables, attitudes towards general speed limits and assessments of risks for work zones were also collected. The results showed that a higher share of drivers preferred higher speeds for work zones without visible roadwork activity, for both road types. The work zones with visible roadwork activity had lower frequency of speeders and lower speed limits were evaluated as more reasonable. Participants had quite positive attitudes towards general posted speed limits for work zones, with differences between gender, age and driving frequency. Risk situations at work zones were assessed, in general, as being not so probable to happen. It was discussed the advantages and disadvantages of video-based experiments and its implications for studies on drivers’ behaviour at work zones.