Age, gender and deterrability: Are younger male drivers more likely to discount the future?

Abstract

Utilizing the Classical Deterrence theory and Stafford and Warr's (1993) reconceptualized model of deterrence, the current study examined whether age, gender, and discounting the future tendencies influence perceptions of being apprehended for speeding offences. Licensed motorists (N=700; 57% female) in Queensland (Australia) were recruited to complete a self-report questionnaire that measured perceptual deterrence, speeding related behaviors and discounting the future tendencies. Data were analyzed utilizing descriptive, bivariate and multivariate regressions. Significant (albeit weak) positive correlations were found between age and perceptions of apprehension certainty. Males were significantly more likely to report higher incidences of speeding (including while avoiding detection) compared to females. In contrast, females were more likely to perceive high levels of apprehension certainty and consider impending penalties to be more severe. At a multivariate level, discounting the future tendencies (in addition to being male, reporting lower levels of perceptual severity and swiftness, and more instances of punishment avoidance) were predictive of lower perceptual certainty levels. This study is one of the first to reveal that being male and having a tendency to discount the consequences of the future may directly influence drivers' perceptual deterrence levels.

Socio-demographic determinants of motorcycle speeding in Maha Sarakham, Thailand

“…the future were predictive of lower perceptions of getting caught for speeding [28]. Our results regarding gender differences in time discounting behaviors agree with the findings of Freeman et al However, our findings in regards to time discounting and speeding differ.…”

“…Discrepancies in our results may also be due to differences in the way time discounting was measured. While Freeman et al examined discounting tendencies specific to speeding-related penalties, we employed an economics-based approach in which participants were asked to choose between receiving a hypothetical sum of money either today or 7 days from today [28].…”

“…In various economic experiments, researchers have consistently found that males have a stronger tendency to discount the future than females [25][26][27]. In the context of road safety, a study by Freeman et al (2017) revealed that being male and having future discounting tendencies were associated with lower perceptions of getting caught for speeding in Australia [28].…”

Analyses on the heterogeneity of car‐following behaviour: evidence from a cross‐cultural driving simulator study

“…In this study, nationality and scenario were set to be the two independent variables. Since many factors have been found to have influences on driver's driving behaviour [40–44], we set some constraints in selecting participants. Totally 42 young male participants (aged 18–32 years), well‐educated (students of the university) from (China: 21; Germany: 21) were selected.…”

Untitled

“…Discrepancies in our results may also be due to differences in the way time discounting was measured. While Freeman et al examined discounting tendencies specific to speeding-related penalties, we employed an economics-based approach in which participants were asked to choose between receiving a hypothetical sum of money either today or 7 days from today [28]. Literature on risk tolerance and road safety behaviors is limited.…”