K&H: others break the rules, we follow the rules? A double picture of Hungarian motorists

How do middle-aged Hungarians view compliance with traffic rules? The K&H survey on the future of the road has been seeking an answer to this question for years. The results of the research conducted at the end of last year are particularly relevant to the new draft of the Road Traffic Act, which modernizes the decades-old regulation in many respects. Only 27 percent of 30-59 year-olds believe that motorists adhere to the speed limits. The picture is particularly bleak in Budapest, where only 18 percent believe that speed limits are adhered to. Also, 27 percent believe that motorists do not use their phones while driving. According to the research, these are the two rules that drivers adhere to the least.
zebra crossing, seatbelts and others

41 percent of overtaking rules and 44 percent of parking rules are believed to be adhered to by the majority. There is a marked gender difference in the assessment of overtaking: 34 percent of women, while 48 percent of men, believe that this area is in order. The picture is more favorable for turning: the majority of people comply with the rules prohibiting turning and turning around, according to 53 percent. Trust is much higher for several of the “basic rules” of everyday traffic.

One of the innovations of the new Road Traffic Code is that it calls pedestrian crossings by their ordinary name, i.e. zebra crossings. Related to this, according to a K&H survey, the majority of motorists also give priority to pedestrians at zebra crossings, according to 53 percent. Here too, there is a big difference between the genders: 62 percent of men and 45 percent of women think so. The most, that is, drivers who drive more than 20 thousand kilometers per year, feel the most that the majority comply with this rule, 63 percent of them said so. According to the respondents, priority giving between motorists and taking stop signs into account works at a level of 60 percent. 67 percent of men and 53 percent of women believe that the majority actually follow these rules. Almost two-thirds of respondents, 63 percent, believe that drivers do not drive drunk. Here, education and income are also strongly related to trust: 71 percent of those with higher education and 58 percent of those with lower education believe that this rule applies. In the case of seat belts, 63 percent also believe that drivers follow the rules.

Self-report

When the question is no longer about “other drivers” but about ourselves, the picture becomes different. Among those with a driving license, the most commonly reported violation is speeding: only 42 percent say that they always strictly follow the speed limit. There is also a big difference between the genders here: a third of men and half of women are rule-abiding.

71 percent of drivers say they always follow the rules for using the phone. There is also a difference by gender: 65 percent of men and 76 percent of women said so. The “I always follow” rate is lower for those who drive the most (over 20 thousand kilometers) at 59 percent, while it is significantly higher for those who drive the least (under 10 thousand kilometers), at 76 percent.

Returning to the new Road Traffic Act, it is still a draft, and the proposed rules published so far may still change in many places, but it is definitely positive that it also makes the use of now everyday means of transport, such as scooters, clearer.