Personality traits, sensation seeking, and cycling safety outcomes: A multi-country study

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INTRODUCTION: While the role of personality in shaping behavior and safety has been widely documented across domains, its study among cyclists has remained limited. Traditional trait-based approaches may also fall short in predicting real behaviors, which highlights the need to explore additional factors. AIMS: This research examined associations between personality traits, cycling behaviors, and self-reported crashes, and tested the predictive role of sensation seeking (SS), an emerging construct in cycling safety, on risky and protective behaviors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 5,778 cyclists from 17 countries (58% male, 41% female, 1% non-binary; M = 34 years). Participants completed an online questionnaire assessing personality, cycling behaviors, and self-reported crashes over five years. RESULTS: Most personality traits showed significant associations with risky behaviors, but the strongest correlations involved SS. Path analyses indicated that high sensation seekers were more likely to engage in road conflicts. SS also covaried with risk perception, which predicted both risky and protective behaviors. Cyclists reporting crashes scored higher on SS and openness, and lower on agreeableness. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that personality traits are related to self-reported cycling safety outcomes, with SS showing the clearest links to risky behaviors, road conflicts, and crash involvement. The observed covariance between SS and risk perception also supports considering both factors jointly when examining cycling safety.

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