Rose, Chae, and Hardie, Beth (2026) The morality of speeding and the conditional relevance of controls. International Criminology. (In Press)

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Abstract

While many studies have investigated Situational Action Theory’s (SAT) situational model of crime causation, most have failed to capture the nuance of its core principles of moral correspondence and the conditional relevance of controls. This study addresses that gap by examining whether the influence of deterrence and self-control on illegal speeding varies according to the moral configuration of drivers and settings. Online survey data were collected from 919 Australian drivers as part of a larger project that is the first to apply SAT to speeding. Four groups were created based on the intersection of drivers’ personal morality and their perceived exposure to criminogenic contexts. A multiple group comparison within the framework of structural equation modelling was then conducted to test SAT’s propositions. In addition to providing full support for SAT’s main PxE propositions, findings supported the principle of the conditional relevance of controls. Among drivers with strong speeding-relevant morality (generally believe speeding to be wrong) who were frequently exposed to settings conducive to speeding, self-control was most strongly related to speeding behavior. In contrast, among drivers with weak speeding-relevant morality (generally believe speeding to be acceptable) but exposed to strong moral contexts (speeding discouraged), deterrence variables (perceived certainty and severity of detection) were most influential. However, contrary to SAT’s principle of moral correspondence, self-control was also significant for drivers with weak morality in weak moral contexts. This contradictory finding may reflect the way groups were formed or how self-control was operationalized, among other possible explanations which are discussed. Overall, the study advances SAT by applying its key principles to speeding and demonstrates that the influence of controls is contingent on moral configurations. Crucially, this highlights speeding-relevant morality, both of the driver and the setting, as the most suitable focus for the development and implementation of future prevention strategies to reduce speeding.

Item ID:	90279
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2662-9979
Copyright Information:	© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.
Date Deposited:	15 Jan 2026 00:18
FoR Codes:	44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4402 Criminology > 440201 Causes and prevention of crime @ 40% 44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4402 Criminology > 440205 Criminological theories @ 40% 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5205 Social and personality psychology > 520599 Social and personality psychology not elsewhere classified @ 20%
SEO Codes:	27 TRANSPORT > 2703 Ground transport > 270311 Road safety @ 50% 23 LAW, POLITICS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES > 2304 Justice and the law > 230402 Crime prevention @ 50%
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