Traffic violations are among the leading causes of road accidents. In this research, the sensitivity of
Greek drivers to a hypothetical intensification of police enforcement for speed violations and improper
overtaking is analyzed, using stated preference data. Under the assumption of increased police
enforcement, drivers were presented with the option to maintain their unsafe driving patterns (and risk
getting fined) or comply with the traffic laws (and experience longer trip duration). A parsimonious
mixed logit model has been estimated and sensitivity analysis is performed with respect to the main
variables. The model explicitly captures the (unobserved) heterogeneity in the sample, and reflects the
fixed random parameter across observations from the same respondent. The behaviour of the surveyed
drivers depends on socioeconomic characteristics and trip characteristics. Based on the presented
sensitivity analysis, it can be argued that while the “typical” Greek driver may not be particularly riskprone,
there are segments of the population that show a tendency to violate traffic laws. This is a useful
finding that could be used by policy makers e.g. to develop targeted police enforcement campaigns (or
targeted media campaigns, special education initiatives, etc.), aimed at the demographic segments with a
higher tendency for traffic violation.
