Fast and furious 3: illegal street racing, sensation seeking and risky driving behaviours in New Zealand

Illegal street racing is receiving increased media attention but there is little research in Australia and New Zealand to guide creative responses to this socially problematic behaviour. The paper investigates the relationship between interest in motor sport, illegal street racing and other risky driving behaviours amongst a sample of young male drivers in Christchurch. The measured variables included a driving violations scale, attitudes to speeding, sensation seeking propensity, level of interest in motor sport and participation in illegal street racing. The results indicate that experience with motor sport was a significant factor in the explanation of both risky driving behaviour and the level of involvement in illegal street racing, taking into account the influence of sensation seeking. However, the way in which motor sport was linked with risky driving was different from the way it was linked with illegal street racing. Motor sport had a more direct influence on street racing, but influenced risky driving behaviour through the influence on attitude to speeding. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E211825.