The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of sensation seekingand attention in traffic violations and errors. Participants were 716 volunteer male drivers from Ankara, Turkey. Drivers were asked to respond to computerized measures of monotonous and selective attention tests, and also to complete the Driver Behavior Questionnaire, Driving Skills Inventory,and Arnett Inventory of Sensation Seeking. The authors first categorized participants into four groups according to their correct responses of monotonous and selective attention tests by using median-split: Group 1 = low scores on both monotonous and selective attention tests, Group 2 = high scores on both monotonous and selective attention tests, Group 3 = low on monotonous attention and high on selective attention, and Group 4 = high on monotonous attention and low on selective attention. Participants were also classified into two groups regarding their total sensation seeking scores as low and high sensation seekers. A 4 (attention groups) X 2 (sensationseeking groups) MANOVA was conducted on traffic violations and errors as dependent variables. MANOVA analysis indicated that high sensation seekerswith high monotonous and selective attention are more likely to have a higher number of traffic violations and errors than other groups. Since these drivers also reported lower levels of safety skills than other groups, it could be interpreted as an indication of drivers' overconfidence in their skills and underestimation of the hazards in traffic. Such drivers were more likely to be risk takers in traffic situations.
Samenvatting