Drivers' speed choice behavior considering drivers' demographic characteristics: A driving simulator study

The present study investigates the Iranian drivers’ characteristics and tries to determine which factors can affect the drivers’ speed selection behavior. Therefore, drivers’ who choose speeds higher than the 85th percentile speed were examined, mainly because of the importance and effectiveness of higher speeds in crash occurrence in Iranian roads. For this purpose, a driving simulator was used to conduct the research and gathering the drivers’ selected speed while driving in scenarios. Six scenarios were used in the driving simulator based on the visibility conditions, and 70 participants were evaluated through the driving simulator. Using the t-test, speed data differences in six scenarios have proved. Results showed that age, education level, and gender affect drivers' perception of speed and speed selection. The age of the participants affected the selected speed negatively, which means that increases in the drivers' age can cause selecting speeds lower than the 85th percentile of speed. The higher education level in the present study was the PhD, and results indicated that participants who were categorized in the higher level of education tried to decrease their speed more than others. Also, results indicated that drivers who selected speeds higher than the 85th percentile of speed experienced at least one accident during the driving task in the driving simulator.