Impulsive personality and risk-taking behavior in motorcycle traffic offenders: A matched controlled study

Abstract

This study examines a hypothesis that motorcyclists with a history of traffic offences will make riskier driving decisions and engage in more risk-taking behavior because of poor response inhibition, accentuated by the behavioral-impairment effect of impulsivity. Fifty-nine motorcyclists with previous traffic offences, and 54 matched controls, were compared on measures of impulsivity, response inhibition, risk-taking behavior, and risky decision making. Although self-reported impulsivity did not correlate with behavioral task measures and was independent of unlawful status, analyzing participants’ task performance confirmed that the traffic offenders were different to the control sample in terms of response inhibition, risk-taking behavior, and risky driving decisions. Offenders demonstrated poorer response inhibition and greater willingness to take risks. These findings have implications for further research into the development of more reliable and valid measures that can be used to study the impulsive behavior of at-risk motorcyclists and to design interventions that will modify their cognitive-behavioral characteristics.