The time-savings and the time-loss bias in traffic
The time-savings and the time-loss bias in traffic

Summary/Abstract: Here we investigate the time-saving bias (TSB), the cognitive bias which leads to underestimation of the saved time when increasing vehicle’s speed from low initial speeds and overestimation when increasing from high initial speeds, and the time-loss bias (TLB), which leads to underestimation of the lost time when decreasing vehicle’s speed from low initial speeds and overestimation when decreasing from high initial speeds. The previous research in Bosnia and Herzegovina showed that people overestimate the saved time when increasing from both low and high initial speed. The goal of this research was to test the TSB and TLB in Bosnia and Herzegovina in a more controlling experimental design and with a larger sample. The total of 1414 drivers (50.50% women), ages from 18 to 82 (M = 33.24), participated in research. There were six questions for the TSB, three with the low initial speed and three with the high initial speed, and six questions for the TLB, three with the low initial speed and three with the high initial speed. The differences between initial speeds and increased/decreased speeds were 10, 20 and 30 km/h. Each participant was randomly assigned one TSB and one TLB question. The results showed that participants on average overestimated the saved/lost time in all cases. Furthermore, average estimations of the saved time correspond to the proportion heuristic increased by the constant k = 6.5 min, whereas estimations of the lost time correspond to the percentage heuristic increased by the constant n = 12 min.

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