Introduction

In 2019, WSP was appointed to investigate the gap between vulnerable road users’ perceived vehicle speeds and actual speed, and the impacts the actual and perceived trunk road conditions have on residents’ ability to walk or cycle in their local area.

This project was undertaken in five stages:

Stage 1: Literature Review

A review was undertaken by Edinburgh Napier University’s Transport Research Institute (ENTRI) of any existing research to assess if perceptions of speeds and gap acceptance have been quantified in similar environments to strategic roads in Scotland.

The outcomes of this review were detailed in the End of Stage 1 summary note. The most important outcome from the Stage 1 Literature Review was that there is insufficient existing evidence to draw any conclusions on vulnerable users’ perceptions of speed on strategic roads bisecting rural settlements.

This literature review was updated during Stage 4 as part of the post-COVID-19 restart. The updated literature review is described in brief in Section 2 and included in the appendices.

Stage 2: Pilot Study

Following Stage 1, WSP developed and carried out a pilot study to assess the performance of the survey and analysis process.

The pilot survey was undertaken in Earlston on 28th November 2019 and concluded that, with minor revisions to the questionnaire used, public perception of speed against actual can be measured and, with a larger dataset, triangulation of this data with household make-up could be carried out. 

The findings of the pilot study are presented in the End of the Stage 2 summary note (issued January 2020).

Stage 3: Methodology Formalisation

The outcomes of the pilot study were reviewed by WSP and ENTRI and a revised methodology for the wider study was proposed. This revised methodology was presented in the Stage 3 summary note (issued July 2020). Further data collection was then placed on indefinite hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2021, Transport Scotland and WSP agreed that the project should work toward a re-start, and a project re-start proposal was developed (submitted October 2021).

Stage 4: Field Work

In autumn 2022, a survey-based field study was conducted across 13 settlements to study how people living adjacent to trunk roads perceive the traffic conditions in their local area. This report describes the survey development and fieldwork methodology.

Simultaneous with conducting the survey, WSP commissioned the collection of traffic speed and volume data from Automatic Traffic Counters (ATCs) at each study site.

Stage 5: Analysis and Reporting

The survey data was analysed in conjunction with traffic speed and volume data to provide both general and settlement-specific insights into residents’ perceptions of speeds and barriers to active travel.

The sample was analysed as a whole along the following dimensions:

  • Respondents’ perception of traffic speed relative to measured speed
  • Location of residents’ perceived traffic issues
  • Key times of traffic issues
  • Barriers to active travel
  • Differences in average accuracy of traffic speed estimation across demographic groups
  • Identification of factors related to relative estimation of traffic speed (multiple linear regression model)
  • Factors increasing probability of overestimation of traffic speeds by 5+ or 10+ mph (logistic regression models)

Settlement-specific findings are included as datasheets in Appendix A.