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.


METHODS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Population and Community Health Unit, Department of Family Medicine, Western University, 1151 Richmond St., London, ON, Canada N6A 5C1. Electronic address: zumruty@gmail.com.
Zümrüt
Z
Yıldırım-Yenier
Population and Community Health Unit, Department of Family Medicine, Western University, 1151 Richmond St., London, ON, Canada N6A 5C1. Electronic address: evingili@uwo.ca.
Evelyn
E
Vingilis
Department of Psychology, York University, 88 Behavioural Science Building, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON, Canada M3J 1P3. Electronic address: davidw@yorku.ca.
David L
DL
Wiesenthal
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 33 Russell St., T416, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 2S1. Electronic address: robert_mann@camh.net.
Robert E
RE
Mann
Population and Community Health Unit, Department of Family Medicine, Western University, 1151 Richmond St., London, ON, Canada N6A 5C1. Electronic address: jsseeley@uwo.ca.
Jane
J
Seeley
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007899:Leisure Activities / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Driver; Driving violation; Motorsport; Spectator; Speeding attitude; Thrill seeking