Accident Analysis and Prevention 33 (2001) 679– 684

www.elsevier.com/locate/aap

Sensation seeking, risky driving and behavioral adaptation

Brian A. Jonah *, Rachel Thiessen, Elaine Au-Yeung
Transport Canada, Road Safety Directorate, Place de Ville, Tower C, 330 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ont., Canada K1A 0N5

Received 30 March 2000; received in revised form 13 July 2000; accepted 7 August 2000

Abstract

A study on the relationship between sensation seeking (SS) and risky driving, aggressive driving and behavioral adaptation is
reported on. College students completed a questionnaire concerning their driving behavior and level of sensation seeking. Results
indicated that high SS’s were significantly more likely than low SS’s to speed, not wear belts, drink frequently, drive after drinking,
perceive a low risk of detection for impaired driving, and perceive that they could drink more beer before being impaired. High
SS’s were also more likely to report aggressive driving habits. High SS’s were significantly more likely than low SS’s to say that
they would drive faster on highways and on wet roads and drive after drinking, if operating a vehicle equipped with anti-lock
brakes. The results are consistent with previous research. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Sensation seeking; Behavioural adaptation; Adventure seeking

1. Introduction
Ever since Tillman and Hobbs (1949) stated that ‘a
man drives as he lives’, there has been interest in the
driver’s personality as a potential underlying causal
factor in driver behavior (cf. Beirness, 1996). One per-
sonality trait that has received considerable attention is
sensation seeking. According to Zuckerman (1994), sen-
sation seeking (SS) ‘is a trait defined by the seeking of
varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and ex-
periences and the willingness to take physical, social,
legal, and financial risks for the sake of such
experiences’. Central to this trait is ‘the optimistic
tendency to approach novel stimuli and explore the
environment’.
Sensation seeking is operationally defined in terms of
scores on the sensation seeking scale (SSS) which was
first published by Zuckerman et al. (1964). Form V of
the SSS is currently the most commonly used measure
of sensation seeking (Zuckerman, 1994). The 40 forced-
choice items on this scale require subjects to choose
between a statement which reflects a desire for sensa-
* Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1-613-9981968; fax: +1-613-
9902913.
E-mail address: jonahb@tc.gc.ca (B.A. Jonah).
tion (‘I like wild and uninhibited parties’) and one that
reflects a more cautious predilection (‘I prefer quiet
parties with good conversation’). The SSS consists of
four subscales, thrill and adventure seeking (TAS),
experience seeking (ES), boredom susceptibility (BS),
and disinhibition (Dis). It is important to note that
there are no items on the SSS, which refer to driving
behavior.
The possibility that SS underlies risky driving has
been the subject of a considerable amount of research.
Jonah (1997) reported that of 40 studies reviewed in the
literature, all but four found a positive relationship
between SS and some aspect of risky driving (e.g.
impaired driving, nonuse of seat belts, speeding, follow-
ing too closely, traffic violations). The order of magni-
tude of the relationship between SS and risky driving
was in the 0.30 –0.40 range, depending on the measure
of driving behavior. This relationship has been ob-
served among drivers from Canada, the United States,
Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland
and has been found for both men and women but is
weaker among the latter.
In discussing the implications of the relationship
between SS and risky driving, Jonah (1997) raised the
possibility that SS may not only influence the way
drivers perceive and respond to risk while driving, but it

0001-4575/01/$ - see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 0 1 - 4 5 7 5 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 8 5 - 3
680 B.A. Jonah et al. / Accident Analysis and Pre6ention 33 (2001) 679–684
may also moderate how they adapt to changes in
perceived risk within the driving environment. Jonah
postulated that ‘…high SS’s adapt their behavior to
take advantage of such improvements in safety to a
greater extent than low SS’s and that consequently,
they exhibit greater risky driving’. Is it possible that
such behavioral adaptation is not a general phe-
nomenon observed among all drivers, as purported by
Wilde (1994), but rather one that is pursued mainly by
those drivers who seek to optimize their level of risk
and the potential rewards from those risks? It could be
argued that high sensation seeking drivers would adapt
to perceived vehicle technology induced reductions in
risk by taking greater risks. It is hypothesized that
sensation seeking may moderate behavioral adaptation
to risk such that high SS’s are more likely to ‘spend’
any safety benefit afforded by vehicle design improve-
ments by engaging in risky driving, while low SS’s are
more likely to ‘bank’ the safety benefit by not altering
their behavior, thereby enhancing their level of safety.
Indeed, it may be the very drivers who would benefit
the greatest from vehicle safety enhancements (i.e. high
SS), who are most likely to adapt their behavior to
perceived reductions in risk.
Some support for this hypothesis has been reported
by Ward et al. (1997) who evaluated driver response to
an adaptive cruise control (ACC) device which auto-
mates speed and headway maintenance. High and low
SS’s drove a vehicle along a set route on a highway
with and without the ACC device. Measures of arousal,
effort, situational awareness and driving behavior were
taken. The results indicated that the use of the ACC
device resulted in higher measured peak speeds as well
as lower levels of arousal and effort being reported by
high SS’s compared with low SS’s.
There is considerable debate of late concerning ‘road
rage’ and the aggressive driver (American Automobile
Association, 1997). While there have been studies of
aggressive driving behavior and aggressive personality
traits of drivers, no attempt has yet been made to link
SS with aggressive driving. Aggressive behavior toward
other drivers on the road may be another manifestation
of high SS’s thirst for excitement. A driver who
screeches his tires as he races away from other drivers
at an intersection and then gives those left in his dust
an obscene gesture, may find their aggressive behavior
stimulating.
The present study investigated the relationship be-
tween SS and self-reported risky and aggressive driving,
as well as subjects’ likelihood of adapting to anti-lock
braking systems by driving in a more risky manner.
Since most previous research on SS and risky driving
has used only male subjects, both men and women were
included in this study to determine whether gender
moderates these relationships.
2. Method
2.1. Subjects
The subjects were 120 male and 159 female students
in psychology, design, marketing, or dental assistant
courses at two colleges in Montreal and Ottawa,
Canada. The average age of the sample was 25.03 years
(S.D.= 6.30 years) with the youngest being 17 and the
oldest 60. All subjects were licensed and had driven
within the last 12 months.
2.2. Procedure
The students voluntarily completed a two part ques-
tionnaire during class time with the concurrence of the
professor. The students were told ‘This questionnaire
asks about your driving habits as well your opinions
about driving and road safety’. They were also in-
formed that their responses would be kept confidential
and that they did not have to put their name on it.
The first part of the questionnaire included questions
about distance traveled in the last 12 months, seat belt
use, preferred highway driving speed, perceived risk of
motor vehicle collision injury, drinking behavior, driv-
ing within 2 h of drinking, legally impaired driving,
perceived likelihood of apprehension for impaired driv-
ing, drinking capacity before one’s ability becomes
impaired, drinking capacity before one’s blood alcohol
concentration is over legal limit, and collisions and
traffic violations during the past 2 years. Many of these
items had been used in previous research. A measure of
aggressive driving was also included where drivers indi-
cated their agreement or disagreement with statements
about engaging in various aggressive driving behaviors
(e.g. swearing at other drivers, beating other drivers
from getaway, driving close behind other vehicles to get
driver to move over, etc.).
To measure behavioral adaptation, the subjects were
asked ‘If you know that you are driving a car equipped
with anti-lock brakes, which increase safety, how likely
are you to do each of the following — drive faster on
highways, drive faster on wet roads, drive closer behind
other vehicles, drive after drinking, not wear a seat belt,
and speed up if the light turned yellow’. Subjects rated
their likelihood as not at all likely, somewhat likely, or
very likely.
The second part of the questionnaire was Form V of
Zuckerman’s SSS which consists of 40 forced-choice
items (Zuckerman, 1994). The distribution of total sen-
sation seeking scores was split at the median so that
subjects with total SS scores below 20 were classified as
low sensation seekers and those with scores 20 and
higher were considered as high sensation seekers. There
were roughly equal numbers of subjects categorized as
high and low SS.
 B.A. Jonah et al. / Accident Analysis and Pre6ention 33 (2001) 679–684
The questionnaire was pretested with 20 subjects.
More details about the questions asked are provided in
the tables showing the results.
A copy of the full questionnaire can be obtained
from the first author.
2.3. Analyses
The discrete data were analyzed using multiple  2 to
test for the effects of SS, gender and their interaction.
Rating scales were analyzed using an SS×Gender
analysis of variance. It was decided to analyze the data
using median splits on SS rather than correlations so
that interactions with gender could be detected and
plotted. The 0.05 level of significance was adopted for
these analyses. For correlational analyses, Pearson
product moment correlations were conducted. The 0.01
level of significance was adopted for these analyses.
3. Results
High and low sensation seekers did not significantly
differ on age, gender, annual kilometers traveled, col-
lege attended or computer ownership (proxy measure
for socio-economic status). Given the main interest of
the study was SS, only significant the main effects of SS
and interaction effects of gender with SS are reported.
3.1. Risky dri6ing and risk perception
Table 1 presents self-reported risky driving behavior
for high and low sensation seekers. High sensation
seekers (SS’s) were significantly (P B0.05) more likely
than low sensation seekers to say that they do not
always wear seat belts, they would drive 120 km/h or
faster on a highway if there was no speed limit, drink
two to seven times per week, drive while they thought
that their blood alcohol concentration was over the
legal limit, believe that they could drink five or more
Table 1
Risky driving, risk perception and sensation seeking
Measure
Do not always use seat belts
Drive over 120 km/h on expressway if no limit
Drink 2-7 times per week
Drive within 2 h of drinking
Drive while over legal limit
Drink 5 plus beers in 2 h before driving ability impaired
Low chances impaired driver will be caught
Collision involvement last 2 years
Traffic violation last 2 years
681
drinks before their ability to drive was impaired, and
believe that the chances of an impaired driver being
caught by the police are low. There was a trend for high
sensation seekers to be more likely to report a traffic
violation within the last two years (PB 0.12) but there
was no difference on collision involvement. There were
no interaction effects with gender, indicating that the
differences between high and low SS’s on these risky
driving measures existed for both men and women.
3.2. Aggressi6e dri6ing habits
The degree to which drivers agreed that they engage
in various aggressive driving habits is exhibited in Table
2. High sensation seekers were more likely (PB0.05)
than low’s to agree that they swear at other drivers, like
to beat other drivers at the getaway, think it is fun to
weave through traffic, like passing other cars, find
driving at high speeds is exciting, like to outsmart other
drivers, and often lose their temper while driving. Addi-
tionally, there were marginally significant differences
(PB 0.10) on not being easily provoked or angered
when driving, never using the horn when annoyed and
making rude signs to other drivers.
There were significant SS by gender interactions on
only two aggressive behavior items, passing and making
rude signs. For the passing behavior, there was no
difference between high and low SS’s among males but
among female drivers, high SS’s reported more aggres-
sive passing than low SS’s. For making rude signs, the
opposite pattern emerged with no effect of SS among
females but high SS’s among males reporting more of
this behavior than low SS’s.
A principal components factor analysis performed on
the aggressive driving items identified two factors with
eigenvalues greater than 1.0. The first factor included
all the aggressive driving items except ‘Not easily pro-
voked’, ‘Never use the horn’ and ‘Never enter intersec-
tion on red light’ which loaded on the second factor.
Composite aggression scales were created based on
Level of sensation seeking P
Low (N =145, %) High (N = 134, %)
4.9 13.4 0.02
17.2 37.3 0.001
7.6 28.9 0.001
28.3 39.5 0.07
3.5 11.1 0.04
8.9 26.0 0.01
23.9 50.8 0.001
20.0 26.1 n.s.
22.8 31.3 0.11
682 B.A. Jonah et al. / Accident Analysis and Pre6ention 33 (2001) 679–684

Table 2 items were averaged to create a composite measure of

Aggressive driving habits and sensation seeking
behavioral adaptation. An analysis of variance per-
Measure Level of sensation seeking P
formed on this composite scale revealed that high sen-
sation seekers were more likely than low sensation
Low (N =145) High (N= 134) seekers to indicate that they would drive in a risky
manner if they thought that the vehicle that they were
Swear at other drivers 2.50a 2.93 0.001 driving was equipped with ABS. Although the effect
Beat drivers at 1.75 2.10 0.001
getaway
was small, it was statistically significant (PB0.05).
Fun to weave through 1.66 1.98 0.001 There was no interaction effect with gender on the
traffic composite measure.
Like passing other 1.93 2.26 0.001
cars
Not easily 2.61 2.46 0.10 3.4. Risky dri6ing and SS Subscales
provoked/angered
when driving Correlations were conducted to determine how well
Driving at high speeds 2.14 2.42 0.003
the four subscales of SS, TAS, ES, Dis and BS, as well
is exciting
Like to outsmart 1.90 2.26 0.001 as the total SS scores correlated with the risky driving
drivers measures. These correlations appear in Table 4. Over-
Never use horn when 2.59 2.39 0.08 all, the Dis subscale was significantly (PB 0.01) corre-
annoyed lated with more (7) of the driving measures that any of
Make rude signs 1.66 1.82 0.09
the other SS subscales. The Dis subscale was the sub-
Often lose temper 2.30 2.53 0.02
Never enter 3.24 3.20 n.s. scale most strongly related to the alcohol consumption
intersection on red and driving measures and to the aggressive driving
light measures. The BS subscale was related to speeding,
Drive close behind 1.53 1.62 n.s. drinking, aggressive driving and behavioral adaptation.
Aggression factor 1 1.85 2.11 0.001
Neither the Total SS scores nor any of the subscales
Aggression factor 2 2.48 2.27 0.01
were significantly related to collision and violation
a
Means on a 1–4 rating scale, where 4 indicates greatest agree- frequency.
ment.

these two factors and the high SS’s expressed greater 4. Discussion
aggression on both scales than low SS’s (P B 0.01).
There were no interaction effects with gender on these The results of this study clearly demonstrate that
composite scales. high sensation seekers engage in more risky driving
than low sensation seekers. Although, the present re-
3.3. Beha6ioral adaptation sults are based on self-reports, they are consistent with
previous research which has observed the actual risky
The subjects’ likelihood that they would engage in
Table 3
various risky driving practices if they were driving an Likelihood of behavioral adaptation to anti-lock brakes and sensa-
ABS equipped vehicle is presented by their level of tion seeking
sensation seeking in Table 3. High sensation seekers
were significantly (P B0.05) more likely to say that they Measure Level of sensation seeking P
would drive faster on highways, drive faster on wet
Low (N =145) High (N =134)
roads, and drive after drinking. High SS’s were also
marginally more likely to say that they would not wear Drive faster on 1.23a 1.37 0.03
their seat belt (PB 0.09) and that they would drive highway
closer behind other vehicles (P B0.12). There was a Drive closer behind 1.03 1.17 0.12
significant SS by gender interaction only on the likeli- Drive after drinking 1.01 1.08 0.02
Don’t wear belt 1.01 1.06 0.09
hood of driving faster on highways. Male subjects Speed up on yellow 1.46 1.50 n.s.
exhibited no difference as a function of SS but among light
female subjects, high SS’s were more likely to say that Drive faster on wet 1.17 1.29 0.03
they would drive faster. roads
The behavioral adaptation items were factor ana- Composite behavioral 1.17 1.30 0.05
adaptation measure
lyzed using principal components and only one factor
emerged with an eigenvalue greater than 1.0. All six a
Means on a 1–3 rating scale, where 3 indicates very likely to
items loaded on this factor. The ratings on these six engage in behavior.
 B.A. Jonah et al. / Accident Analysis and Pre6ention 33 (2001) 679–684 683

Table 4
Correlations between risky driving and sensation seekinga

TAS ES DIS BS Total SS

Seat belt use −0.02 −0.07 −0.06 −0.10 −0.09

Highway speed 0.22* 0.11 0.23* 0.22* 0.28*
Drinking frequency 0.23* 0.19* 0.48* 0.21* 0.41*
Chances being caught −0.11 −0.12 −0.12 0.02 −0.12
Drive within 2 h of drinking 0.19* 0.17* 0.28* 0.09 0.27*
Beers drunk before feeling impaired 0.19* 0.21* 0.28* 0.07 0.27*
Beers drunk before legally impaired 0.19* 0.21* 0.28* 0.07 0.26*
c Collisions in last 2 years 0.01 0.00 0.06 0.13 0.07
c Violations in last 2 years 0.09 0.02 0.05 0.14 0.10
Aggressive driving 1** 0.23* 0.09 0.38* 0.34* 0.37*
Aggressive driving 2** 0.06 0.02 0.22* 0.21* 0.21*
Likelihood of behavioral adaptation** 0.01 −0.01 0.13 0.18* 0.10

a
*, PB0.01; N =279; **, composite measures; TAS, thrill and adventure seeking; ES, experience seeking; DIS, disinhibition; BS, boredom
susceptibility.

driving of high and low sensation seekers (Jonah, 1997).
Although, there were a few sporadic SS by gender
interactions, there was no clear indication that the
relationship between SS and risky driving was moder-
ated by gender.
The observation that high SS’s reported exhibiting
greater aggressive behavior while driving than low SS’s
is a new finding. Aggressive driving such as weaving
through traffic, frequent passing or driving too closely
are also risky since this behavior can lead to collision
involvement. However, while behaviors such as swear-
ing, making rude signs or honking the horn may be
aggressive they may pose relatively little risk to other
drivers. In contrast, impaired driving behavior, though
not inherently aggressive toward other drivers, unless it
provokes aggressive activity such as following too
closely or weaving in and out of traffic, is clearly risky.
It may well be that these aggressive behaviors, whether
they reflect either hostility or overt aggressive actions,
are part of the same stimulation seeking pattern of high
SS drivers or they could reflect a component of atten-
tion deficit disorder or impulsivity. Indeed, sensation
seeking, impulsivity and attention deficit disorder may
all have the same latent origin.
Overall, the Disinhibition subscale of SS was most
strongly related to the risky driving, aggression and
behavioral adaptation measures. Jonah (1997) reported
that in previous studies of risky driving and sensation
seeking, it was the TAS subscale which seemed to be
more strongly related to risky driving. However, in
some cases the magnitude of the correlations, while
statistically significant at the 0.01 level, were relatively
low and hence may not be very consequential.
In a hypothetical situation where the subjects were
told that they were driving a vehicle equipped with
ABS, which would be safer, high SS’s indicated that
they would be more likely than low’s to engage in risky
driving behaviors, particularly faster driving on high-
ways or on wet roads, and driving after drinking. While
these results may reflect greater potential behavioral
adaptation among high SS’s, these results are only
suggestive since it was not known how subjects would
drive without ABS and hence the measure did not
really reflect a change in behavior. Further, the subjects
actual response to ABS was not measured only their
likelihood to engage in the behavior. However, if it
found that it is primarily the high SS’s who engage in
behavioral adaptation, this should be a major concern
to road safety policy makers because it is the high SS’s
who are already more likely to take risks while driving.
Even if a measure improves the safety of 80 or 90% of
the driving population, behavioral adaptation by the
remaining 10–20%, who may already be at greater risk
of collision involvement given their risky driving, may
eradicate the overall effectiveness of the measure. There
is need for future research which permits high and low
sensation seekers to drive vehicles with and without
ABS over extended periods of time to determine
whether in fact, high sensation seekers are more likely
to adapt their driving behavior than low SS’s. In addi-
tion, research should look at behavioral adaptation to
other vehicle safety improvements such as lane depar-
ture warning systems or night vision systems. While this
intelligent transport system technology is expected to
improve safety, it may end up having the opposite
effect, at least for the high-risk subpopulation of high
SS drivers.
Future research should also investigate the relation-
ship between sensation seeking and other characteristics
of drivers such as impulsivity and attention deficit
disorder. The manifest risky driving behaviors of these
different types of drivers may in fact be based on the
same latent fundamental characteristic. Furthermore,
future research should be conducted on the biological
bases of risky driving behavior to determine the extent
to which such behavior is biologically predetermined,
684 B.A. Jonah et al. / Accident Analysis and Pre6ention 33 (2001) 679–684
perhaps genetically, as has been suggested by Zucker-
man (1994). If a significant proportion of high SS
drivers’ behavior is biologically determined, consider-
able thought should be devoted to how these drivers
should be dealt with. Should licensing authorities be
screening driving license applicants for such high-risk
characteristics? Can risky behavior which is biologically
based, be treated by medication? Can these drivers be
trained to overcome their propensity to risky driving?
Clearly, the results of the present research generate as
many questions as answers.
References
American Automobile Association, 1997. Aggressive driving: three
studies. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Washington, DC.
Beirness, D.J., 1996. The relationship between lifestyle factors and
collisions involving young drivers. In: New to the Road: Reducing
the Risks for Young Motorists International Symposium, June
8 – 11. UCLA Brain Information Service/Brain Research Institute,
Los Angeles, p. 17.
Jonah, B.A., 1997. Sensation seeking and risky driving: a review and
synthesis of the literature. Accident Analysis and Prevention 29
(5), 651 – 665.
Tillman, W.A., Hobbs, G.E., 1949. The accident prone automobile
driver: a study of the psychiatric and social background. Ameri-
can Journal of Psychiatry 106, 321 – 331.
Ward, N.J., Fairclough, S., Humphreys, M., 1997. A field evaluation
of a research adaptive cruise control (ACC) system: automating
the driving task (Unpublished manuscript).
Wilde, G.J.S., 1994. Target Risk. PDE Publications, Toronto, Ont.,
Canada.
Zuckerman, M., 1994. Behavioural Expressions and Biosocial Bases
of Sensation Seeking. University of Cambridge Press, Cambridge.
Zuckerman, M., Kolin, I., Price, L., Zoob, I., 1964. Development of
a sensation seeking scale. Journal of Consulting Psychology 28,
477 – 482.