Although road safety awareness programs typically focus on the negative outcomes that may occur when speeding and/or not wearing a seatbelt when driving a car (or helmet when riding a motorbike), there is little evidence of the reduction of young adults’ risk taking on the road. The authors used an open-ended survey to elicit Spanish young adults’ perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks of speeding and not wearing a seatbelt (or helmet). Around half of the sample reported past engagement in these two risky behaviors, although forecasted engagement was low. Past and forecasted risk taking were positively correlated. Participants provided more drawbacks than benefits of each risky behavior. Drawbacks typically referred to a combination of behavioral acts and social reactions (e.g., accident, punishment) that occurred during the journey. By contrast, benefits largely referred to personal effects (e.g., save time, comfort) that occurred after the journey had ended (speeding) or during the journey (not wearing a seatbelt/helmet). Perceptions of past experiences predicted forecasted speeding only. Overall, there were few gender differences in risk taking and risk perceptions. These findings contribute to our theoretical understanding of young adults’ risk taking on the road, and to the development of road safety programs. (Author/publisher)
Abstract