Risky Driving and Enforcement Legitimacy on Queensland Beaches: A Study of Offending and Legitimacy

This study investigated the relationship between self-reported offending behaviours of drivers and their views of enforcement legitimacy on Queensland beaches. Despite the growing interest in beach driving offending due to many serious injury and fatal crashes, limited research contrasts self-report...

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Main Authors: Levi Anderson, Michele Clark
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Australasian College of Road Safety 2025-05-01
Series:Journal of Road Safety
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.33492/JRS-D-25-1-2472594
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author Levi Anderson
Michele Clark
author_facet Levi Anderson
Michele Clark
author_sort Levi Anderson
collection DOAJ
description This study investigated the relationship between self-reported offending behaviours of drivers and their views of enforcement legitimacy on Queensland beaches. Despite the growing interest in beach driving offending due to many serious injury and fatal crashes, limited research contrasts self-reported offending in beach versus road environments. This study builds on previous research on beach offending by examining drivers’ views of legitimacy regarding rangers and police and their self-reported offending in both driving environments. Two main objectives guided this research: firstly, to examine and contrast self-reported offending of drivers in beach and road locations; secondly, to determine if lower views of legitimacy in police or rangers correlated with higher offending rates in either environment. In total, 702 participants completed the survey and provided demographic data, driving experience, compliance with road rules, and views of legitimacy regarding enforcement agencies. Key findings identified statistically significant differences in behaviour by location. Higher rates of offending on roads compared to beaches were reported for speeding and drink driving while higher rates of offending on beaches were reported for seatbelts (i.e., non-use). Chi-square analysis revealed a significant relationship between views of legitimacy and offending behaviour, suggesting that higher views of the legitimacy of enforcement agencies is significantly associated with lower offending rates. These findings underscore the potential impact of enhancing views of legitimacy through community policing strategies to improve compliance with the road rules and overall road safety on beaches. The study highlights the need for targeted enforcement and education efforts to address unique challenges related to driving in beach environments.
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spelling doaj-art-93f832b8d0ad43cbafe9bc6986b960432025-08-20T03:33:11ZengAustralasian College of Road SafetyJournal of Road Safety2652-42602652-42522025-05-0136210.33492/JRS-D-25-1-2472594Risky Driving and Enforcement Legitimacy on Queensland Beaches: A Study of Offending and LegitimacyLevi AndersonMichele ClarkThis study investigated the relationship between self-reported offending behaviours of drivers and their views of enforcement legitimacy on Queensland beaches. Despite the growing interest in beach driving offending due to many serious injury and fatal crashes, limited research contrasts self-reported offending in beach versus road environments. This study builds on previous research on beach offending by examining drivers’ views of legitimacy regarding rangers and police and their self-reported offending in both driving environments. Two main objectives guided this research: firstly, to examine and contrast self-reported offending of drivers in beach and road locations; secondly, to determine if lower views of legitimacy in police or rangers correlated with higher offending rates in either environment. In total, 702 participants completed the survey and provided demographic data, driving experience, compliance with road rules, and views of legitimacy regarding enforcement agencies. Key findings identified statistically significant differences in behaviour by location. Higher rates of offending on roads compared to beaches were reported for speeding and drink driving while higher rates of offending on beaches were reported for seatbelts (i.e., non-use). Chi-square analysis revealed a significant relationship between views of legitimacy and offending behaviour, suggesting that higher views of the legitimacy of enforcement agencies is significantly associated with lower offending rates. These findings underscore the potential impact of enhancing views of legitimacy through community policing strategies to improve compliance with the road rules and overall road safety on beaches. The study highlights the need for targeted enforcement and education efforts to address unique challenges related to driving in beach environments.https://doi.org/10.33492/JRS-D-25-1-2472594
spellingShingle Levi Anderson
Michele Clark
Risky Driving and Enforcement Legitimacy on Queensland Beaches: A Study of Offending and Legitimacy
Journal of Road Safety
title Risky Driving and Enforcement Legitimacy on Queensland Beaches: A Study of Offending and Legitimacy
title_full Risky Driving and Enforcement Legitimacy on Queensland Beaches: A Study of Offending and Legitimacy
title_fullStr Risky Driving and Enforcement Legitimacy on Queensland Beaches: A Study of Offending and Legitimacy
title_full_unstemmed Risky Driving and Enforcement Legitimacy on Queensland Beaches: A Study of Offending and Legitimacy
title_short Risky Driving and Enforcement Legitimacy on Queensland Beaches: A Study of Offending and Legitimacy
title_sort risky driving and enforcement legitimacy on queensland beaches a study of offending and legitimacy
url https://doi.org/10.33492/JRS-D-25-1-2472594
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AT micheleclark riskydrivingandenforcementlegitimacyonqueenslandbeachesastudyofoffendingandlegitimacy