Relationships between thrill seeking, speeding attitudes, and driving violations among a sample of motorsports spectators and drivers.

Background: Motor racing includes high speed driving and risky maneuvers and can result in negative outcomes for both spectators and drivers. Interest in motorsports is also associated with risky driving attitudes and behaviors on public roads as well as with individual difference variables, such as sensation seeking. However, whether the links between motorsports involvement and risky driving tendencies differ for spectators and drivers has remained mainly unexamined. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between thrill seeking, attitudes toward speeding, and self-reported driving violations among a sample of motorsports spectators and drivers.

Method: A web-based survey was conducted and sampled 408 members and visitors of car club and racing websites in Ontario, Canada. The questionnaire included measures of (i) motorsports involvement, (ii) thrill seeking (Driver Thrill Seeking Scale), (iii) attitudes (Attitudes toward Speed Limits on Roadways and Competitive Attitudes toward Driving Scale); (iv) self-reported driving violations (adapted from Driver Behaviour Questionnaire), and (v) background variables. Path analysis was performed to test the relationships among the variables.

Results: For both spectators and drivers, thrill seeking directly predicted driving violations; competitive attitudes toward driving further mediated this relationship. Attitudes toward speed limits, however, mediated the relationship between thrill seeking and violations only for drivers.

Discussion: We observed significant relationships among individual difference measures, motorsports involvement, speeding attitudes and violations that may inform road safety interventions, including differences in the relationships among thrill seeking, speeding attitudes, and violations for motorsports spectators and drivers.