In organized sports, for example, wearing safety gear has been
associated with increased aggressive and injurious behavior by
hockey players, as well as resistance to calling penalties by coaches
and referees (Biasca et al., 2002). Adult drivers have been shown
to behave more recklessly (e.g., speeding) when wearing seat belts
(Stanton and Pinto, 2000). Product safety interventions directed
towards children also have been found to lead to risk compensation.
For example, with the invention of childproof caps on medication
there was an increase of 3500 cases of poisoning in children under
the age of five, presumably because parents were less vigilant about
the handling and storage of these ‘safer’ bottles (Viscusi, 1984).
The introduction of safety mechanisms on cigarette lighters also
has been linked to reduced parental caution about these products
(Viscusi and Cavallo, 1996). Similarly, parents have been shown
to react with increased tolerance for risk taking when their children
are wearing safety gear during recreational sports and play
activities (Morrongiello and Major, 2002). Even during childhood
wearing safety gear has been shown to result in more reckless risk
taking behavior (DiLillo and Tremblay, 2001; Morrongiello et al.,
2007). Thus, despite debate about how robust and generalized risk
compensation is, research demonstrates unequivocally that this
phenomenon occurs across a broad age range and across numerous
activities.