When two motivations race: The effects of time-saving bias and sensation-seeking on driving speed choices

Time-saving bias - people's biased judgments in estimating the time saved when increasing speed - has been found to strongly impact driving speed choices. However, this bias may be relevant only when the driver's motivation for increasing speed is to arrive sooner. If, on the other hand, the driver is motivated by the desire to experience thrill and sensation, a driver's level of sensation-seeking might better explain choices of speed. In this study, participants were asked to estimate the journey time when increasing speed and to estimate the speed required to arrive on time. They also indicated the speed they would personally choose in such a situation. Next, participants filled out Zuckerman's (1994) Sensation Seeking Scale. Results showed that both time-saving estimations and the Disinhibition scale of Sensation Seeking (as well as drivers' gender) contributed independently and additively to drivers' choice of speed and that time-saving bias' role was somewhat stronger than sensation-seeking.