Personality Traits and Driving Style: Are Risky Drivers Born or Made?
By Koshin Chandrawat
Whenever you step into a vehicle, you just do not bring your keys and a destination in mind, but also your personality. Your behaviour on the road is not just influenced by rules, but a reflection of who you are.
Whether it’s aggressive overtaking or hesitant braking, driving styles greatly vary. But what’s the actual reason for these differences? Are some individuals naturally risky drivers or is such behaviour learnt? Well, psychology suggests that it’s a combination of both.
The Psychology Behind the Wheel
Studies in psychology emphasize on Big Five Personality Traits — openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism — as critical and strong indicators of driving behaviour.
High conscientiousness among individuals is associated with safe, careful, and rule-following drivers. Research shows that these people are often disciplined, responsible, and good at planning, making them good drivers. On the other hand, people who have low conscientiousness and high impulsivity, are linked with speeding, abrupt lane changes, and an increased likelihood of traffic violations.
Besides this, Neuroticism, also seen as emotional instability, can be associated with nervous or erratic driving. Such behaviour can be visible across stressful situations like heavy traffic or poor weather. Sensation-seeking, is another trait often found amongst younger drivers, particularly males. It is linked to thrill-seeking behaviours including racing, speeding, or risky overtaking. It is found that impulsive and sensation-seeking drivers were significantly more likely to be involved in serious road accidents in comparison to those drivers who have higher levels of conscientiousness.
Are We Born This Way?
It’s easy to say that some people are just “born to drive recklessly or dangerously.” And though genetics have a role in influencing traits like impulsivity or risk tolerance, it is not wise to ignore the role of environment and learning in driving behaviour.
For instance, young drivers have underdeveloped prefrontal cortices, a part of our brain, playing a major role in decision-making and impulse control. This biological factor, coupled with limited driving experience and a desire to impress peers, can increase the likelihood of risky behaviour on roads.
But risky driving isn’t limited to age. Other factors such as stressful environments, poor emotional control, or inadequate driving habits learned from others can also reinforce dangerous patterns on roads. With increasing understanding of human psychology regarding driving behaviour, road safety campaigns around the world are beginning to reflect the role of psychology. For example, in the UK, young male drivers aged 17–24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in car crashes than drivers over 25 as per the recently published report by the House of Commons in 2025.
In India, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reported that over 70% of road accidents in 2023 were due to human error. Such errors do not necessarily reflect carelessness, but deeper traits like impatience, overconfidence, or aggression among the drivers.
Road rage is another example, reflecting a clear expression of emotional impulsivity. In countries such as the U.S., nearly 80% of drivers have reported that they experience anger or aggression behind the wheel at least once a year, as per the AAA Foundation in 2016.
Driving Styles and Social Influence
Apart from genetics and personality traits, the field of psychology has provided that driving behaviour is also influenced by social and cultural norms. Cities with dense populations result in aggressive or defensive driving styles due to necessity. Meanwhile, peer pressure – especially in teenagers and young adults – can promote speeding, drinking and driving, or street racing.
Adding more to this, overconfidence is also common drivers. Many people have this belief that they are “better than average” drivers, indicating a cognitive bias which is linked with risk-taking and underestimation of danger.
Can Personality-Based Risks Be Managed?
The good news is that risky drivers are not the gone case. Using the right strategies and interventions, personality-related tendencies can be effectively managed and changed.
One way to do this is through driver education programs. These programs rely on elements of emotional intelligence to help drivers identify, understand and regulate their own emotions, ensuring safe driving practices.
Besides this, technology also offers help in handling risky driving behaviour. With behavioural nudges including in-car alerts, dashboard feedback, and seat belt reminders, drivers can be benefited in promoting safer decisions in real time.
Why It Matters
Exploring the psychology behind driving behaviour isn’t just interesting – it’s also significant in improving road safety. Many times, road crashes are treated as a result of inadequate infrastructure or poor enforcement of rules. While these are crucial for safety, they don’t address the root cause properly – the human mind.
Thus, recognizing how traits like impulsivity, anxiety, or sensation-seeking shape driving behaviour, better training programs can be designed, public awareness can be improved, and tools which promote safer decision-making can be developed.
Conclusion
So, in conclusion, are risky drivers born or made? Well, the answer lies in between. Personality traits do have a role, however, behaviour is not fixed. With the right education, awareness, and environment, responsible driving practices can be cultivated, even amongst the impulsive or sensation-seeking drivers. In the end, the road not only tests our reflexes while driving- it is also a reflection of our inner world and understanding this can save lives.
Add Comment