In traffic safety and driving psychology, velocitation is the tendency to do which of the following?

Introduction / Context:
Velocitation is a term used in driving and road safety to describe a psychological effect related to speed perception. After driving at high speed for some time, a driver's judgement of what feels "normal" can become distorted. This question checks whether you understand in which direction that distortion usually goes.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• A driver has been traveling at a relatively high speed for an extended period, for example on a highway.
• Suddenly, the driver enters a slower speed zone or decides to reduce speed.
• The driver relies on feeling rather than checking the speedometer.
• The term velocitation describes the resulting mismatch between perceived and actual speed.

Concept / Approach:
When a driver has been moving quickly for a long time, the body and brain adapt to the high speed. That speed begins to feel comfortable and "normal." If the driver then slows down to a safer or legal limit, it may subjectively feel too slow, even though the vehicle is still moving quite fast. As a result, the driver may unintentionally continue to drive faster than the posted limit, because actual speed is higher than what the driver believes. Velocitation, therefore, is the tendency to be traveling at a speed that is faster than perceived, not slower.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Imagine driving at a very high speed on a long, straight highway for a considerable time. Step 2: After this experience, exiting onto a lower speed road, you reduce speed according to signs. Step 3: Subjectively, the lower legal speed may feel uncomfortably slow, even though it is correct. Step 4: If you rely only on your feeling, you might accelerate again, ending up driving faster than you realise. Step 5: This mismatch (actual speed greater than perceived speed) is called velocitation.

Verification / Alternative check:
Driving instruction manuals and defensive driving courses often warn about velocitation on long trips. They advise drivers to check the speedometer regularly, especially after transitioning from high speed roads to slower zones, because the mind tends to underestimate the current speed. The formal descriptions emphasise that drivers think they are traveling slower than they actually are, meaning the car is moving faster than perceived. This matches option A exactly.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Be traveling at a speed that is slower than you perceive: This describes the opposite situation, where you think you are going faster than reality; this is not the standard definition of velocitation.

Accurately match your perceived speed to your actual speed: This would describe ideal perception, not a psychological bias.
Avoid changes in speed entirely: This has nothing to do with the psychological effect of prolonged high speed.

Common Pitfalls:
Because the term is unfamiliar, some students guess randomly or assume it refers to any change in speed. Another mistake is to think of it as feeling faster than you are, whereas the real problem is feeling slower than you are after high speed driving. To remember, associate velocitation with "velocity feels low" even when it is still high, encouraging unintentional speeding.

Final Answer:
Velocitation is the tendency to be traveling at a speed that is faster than you perceive.