Perceptions and realities of vehicle speed around schools in Stellenbosch.

Abstract

Paper presented at the 32nd Annual Southern African Transport Conference 8-11 July 2013 "Transport and Sustainable Infrastructure", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.

The paper explores the issue of perceived high speeds of vehicles around two rural schools and one urban school in the Western Cape and investigates whether those perceptions are based on fact. The two rural schools chosen for the study were identified by Cape Winelands' District Municipality as schools where local residents regularly raise concerns around the speeds of vehicles. The study examines actual speeds but looks also at the safety issues of speed more generally, particularly as it relates to the perceptions of and risks facing children as a consequence of their physiological limitations. The findings suggest that while levels of speed compliance may fall within an acceptable range, the speed limits themselves may be inappropriate for child-dominated road space, given the challenges that children have regarding perceiving and responding to moving vehicles.