Study finds strict speed limit enforcements could be detrimental to public safety

Strict enforcement of speed limits could be having a detrimental impact on public safety according to a new Australian study.

University of Western Australia researchers put 84 participants through a driving simulator and tested whether reducing penalties for speeding meant they paid more attention to the road ahead.

Participants were told they could be fined for driving one, six, or 11km/h over a 50km/h speed limit.

Their response to small red dots in their peripheral vision was then measured.

Researchers found that the higher the speed limit enforcement, the more the participant's mental and visual resources were being depleted by paying attention to the speedometer instead of the road ahead.

"We concluded that drivers' mental and visual resources were being used up by paying extra attention to the speed monitoring task, and this was taking some of their attention away from the visual world around them when they were driving," lead researcher, Dr Vanessa Bowden, told the ABC.

Dr Bowden believes governments across the country should take notice of the study.

"There can be a perception that by making it stricter you're only going to get benefits, like you'll get everyone driving more slowly and more safely," she said.

"You can't necessarily make drivers pay more attention to the speed and go more slowly without taking their attention away from some other critical aspect of driving."