arXiv · 2606.18805
Emotional driving: Reference-dependent emotions and risky driving behavior after sporting events
Abstract
Using average vehicle speed data in 10-minute increments at the Traffic Message Channel (TMC) location level, along with precise crash timing and location information, we analyze driving behavior around five Florida stadiums before and after NFL and NBA regular season games from 2015 to 2019. We find no evidence of emotional driving following NBA games, but strong and consistent effects following NFL games, concentrated in predicted-close games that end in disappointing home-team losses -- combining high pre-game suspense with negative outcome valence. These games are associated with significant increases in average vehicle speed within 3 km of stadiums during the first post-game hour, dissipating with increasing time and distance from the stadium. Average vehicle speed increases by up to 3 mph relative to predicted-close games that ended in a win -- an effect several times larger than the typical game day versus non-game day speed differential. Overall, our results highlight how the combination of sustained suspense and negative outcome valence in close sporting contests can spill over into risky post-game driving behavior, underscoring the behavioral and public safety implications of affective cues in large-scale sporting events.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Travis Richardson, Steve Bickley, Ho Fai Ben Chan, Benno Torgler, Shamsunnahar Yasmin, Tim Pawlowski. 2026-06-17. Emotional driving: Reference-dependent emotions and risky driving behavior after sporting events. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.18805
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.