Can working experience mitigate the safety risks of high sensation-seeking traits in railway drivers? The impact of working experience and sensation seeking on railway drivers' hazard perception

Abstract

Accurate hazard perception is a critical predictor of a driver's accident tendency and is negatively influenced by sensation seeking. This study aimed to explore whether the impact of sensation seeking on hazard perception among railway drivers is moderated by working experience across various track scenarios. Using a computer-based hazard perception paradigm and the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS), 83 Chinese railway drivers were assessed through multiple linear regression to analyze their sensation seeking and hazard perception performance. The results indicated that more experienced drivers' hazard perception performance was not affected by sensation seeking, whereas less experienced drivers were negatively impacted in both straight and turning scenarios, with the negative impact somewhat alleviated during turns compared to straight scenarios. This study confirmed that working experience can mask the negative effects of personality traits to conform to societal practice demands. The detrimental influence of sensation seeking on accurate hazard perception varied with track scenarios and was masked by working experience, validating and enriching the perspectives of self-control theory. The results of this study have significant implications for reducing driving safety hazards among railway drivers.