Citation

Vingilis ER, Seeley J, Wiesenthal D, Mann R, Vingilis-Jaremko L, Vanlaar WGM, Leal N. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2013; 21: 30-42.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2013.08.003

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In the Canadian context, stunt driving refers to street racing and associated risky driving activities. Although no national official statistics are available, other data have found that stunt driving is a common activity among young males. Research from Australia, New Zealand and other jurisdictions has shown that those engaged in stunt driving are at higher crash and violation risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the correlates of self-reported stunt driving and the effects of thrill seeking, competitive driving and attitudes towards risky driving on self-reported stunt driving among a sample of car and racing enthusiasts through a web-based survey of car and racing clubs. The Internet questionnaire included: (1) personality variables (Driver Thrilling Seeking Scale, Competitive Attitude Toward Driving Scale); (2) beliefs about seriousness and perceived crash likelihood of various drivers and driving behaviours; (3) attitudes regarding Ontario, Canada's new stunt driving legislation and street racing/stunt driving; (4) risky driving behaviours, as measured by the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire subscale, Self-Report Driver Aggression Questionnaire, Risk-Taking Driving Scale, collisions in past five years, traffic offences in last year and stunt driving, as defined by Ontario's Street Racers, Stunt and Aggressive Drivers Legislation. A minority of car and racing enthusiasts reported stunt driving. Clear differences emerged between the self-reported stunt drivers and non-stunt drivers. Stunt drivers were more likely to be young, less concerned about excessive speeding and street racing, to hold more negative attitudes towards Ontario's stunt driving legislation and more positive attitudes towards street racing and stunt driving, to score higher on the driver thrill seeking, competitive attitude toward driving and risky driving scales and more likely to report traffic offences in the past year. The sequential logistic regression showed that personality characteristics and attitudes provided unique contributions to the model in predicting stunt driving. Thus, although a minority of the sampled car and racing enthusiasts engage in stunt driving, further interventions need to be considered to reduce their risky driving beliefs, attitudes and behaviours.