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°Õ³ó±ðÌýrash of cameraÌýassassinationsÌýin recent monthsÌý— includingÌý16 vandalized in one nightÌýearlier this week —Ìýhas left TorontoniansÌýdivided. Some are staunchly in favour of the devices as an effective deterrent from speeding, while others, including Premier Doug Ford,Ìýconsider them a “tax grab.”Ìý

And yet, it seems Canadians have a need for speed. Nearly 70 per cent of Canadians admitted to occasionally bypassing speed limits in a residential area, and about half said they regularly speed on the highway,Ìý. About one in five said they regularly drive well over the speed limit.

What is it about speeding that is so tempting? Why do a few extra kilometres sometimes feel like the difference between futility and success? Here’s what the experts say is pushing us over the limit.

A feeling of control

If you’re in a rush or running late, driving faster can offer a feeling of control — “even if the gain is negligible,”Ìýsaid Steve Joordens, a professor of psychology at University of º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøScarborough.Ìý“Speeding never saves you a whole lot of time in the grand scheme of things.”

And, , empty roads can make this phenomenon worse, Joordens told the Star. “So, if you’re late, you’re feeling that time pressure and you have open roads, you’re probably going to speed much more than you would normally.”

Stress and unease

That ties into the stress and unease we might feel in traffic — a major motivator for our psyches, according to Judith Andersen, an associate professor of psychology at the University of º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøMississauga.

Whether it’s from being late, concerns over other drivers or weather conditions, our unease may subconsciously spur us to drive faster, Andersen said over email.

“Anger and frustration also arise from a state of unease,” she continued, noting that when stressed, our bodies release chemicals that directly influence our emotional states and behaviours. “Often people who express stress in terms of angry, emotional outbursts will continue to behave that way while drivingÌý— even if it is unsafe.”

Going with the flow

It’s become normal and even expected to drive 10 kilometres over the speed limit in Toronto, Joordens added. Part of that is due to insufficient enforcement.

“We live in this situation where we believe the police don’t mind you speeding a little bit,” he said. “You have to speed, like, 20 kilometres over, 15 kilometres over (before police) are going to pull you over.”

Our behaviours are shaped by rewards and punishments, he said. Without the punishment of regular speeding enforcement, coupled with the reward of getting to our destination marginally faster, we become incentivized to speedÌý—Ìýand over time, that becomes the new normal.

Even if you haven’t made speeding a habit, when we’re driving alongside people who do speed, we’re incentivized to match our speed to others: “When you’re going with the flow of traffic, it feels right. And when habits feel right, they’re very hard to overcome,” Joordens said.

Poor judgment of skills versus risks

“A lot of young males especially develop a sort of sense of overconfidence, what’s called an illusion of control,” Joordens said. “We call it the Dunning-Kruger effectÌý—ÌýThey basically overrate their skills, so they’re not assessing the risks very well.”

Ìýwith a high illusion of control have a greater tendency to engage in risky driving — as well as perceiving less risk while driving. On a related note, the lower risk perception we have, the more likely we are to speed,Ìý.

An adrenalin rush

areÌýmore likely to speed than their more mellow peers:Ìý“They get a real adrenalin and a dopamine burst when they get that feeling of speed … and they find that sensation intrinsically rewarding,” Joordens said.

This is often more pronounced in our youth, he said. But in driving fast and chasing that adrenalin high when young, we can end up ingraining a habit of speeding, even after mellowing out with age.

Too much on the mind

Very often, we’re not entirely focused on the road. We’re wondering what we’re having for dinner, how to make that deadline at work, the weather and a million other things, Joordens said. “Driving becomes automatic, and the conscious mind really only gets back into the picture when something odd happens, like an animal runs across the road,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ìýdriving at or below the speed limit requires additional mental resources, requiringÌýregular glances at the speedometer and adjusting as necessary. When we have too much on the mind, we tend to default to the speed we’re used toÌý— which, based on social norms, is often higher than the speed limit.

Why the vandalism?

While the attacks on city speed camerasÌýmight be going overboard, the anger is understandable, Joordens said.

When driving over the limit becomes normalized as a result of lax enforcement, suddenly being penalized for driving at a speed you’ve become accustomed to can feel unfair.

“That’s why I think sometimes people are getting dinged two or three or four times by the same camera — they can’t quite regain control of that habit, and that’s making them more and more angry,” he said.

What’s more, because of the delay in the ticket’s actual arrival, drivers can end up being penalized multiple times by the same camera before they become aware of what they did wrong.

Joordens feels the cameras are likely effective for deterring speeding, adding that he’s become more attentive whenever he sees a camera. But he thinks the penalties are going overboard.

“Something smaller with a warning could have the same impact, if the goal is to change behaviour,” he said. “But if the goal is to make money, then it’s an advantage.”