The Science Behind Why We Love To Drive

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Anyone who enjoys driving knows the feeling. A certain road, a favorite car, or even the right set of turns can make a drive feel a lot more fun than the usual trip to work or the grocery store. But what actually causes that feeling?

A new Castrol EDGE “Thrill of Driving” study set out to find out. Researchers tracked what was happening in drivers’ brains and bodies during different driving experiences and found that speed wasn’t necessarily the biggest factor.

Learn what researchers found about why driving can feel thrilling and what separates excitement from stress behind the wheel.

Driving Thrill Is About More Than Speed

Researchers put participants through several driving experiences at a closed test facility in the United Kingdom, including karting, track driving, off-road driving, and a passenger ride. They looked at three things: how physically stimulated drivers felt, how focused they were, and whether the experience felt exciting or started to become stressful.

Castrol found that driving felt most thrilling when all three came together without becoming overwhelming. Castrol describes the finding as “controlled immersion,” with focus and control mattering more than speed alone.

Going faster didn’t necessarily make driving feel more thrilling. Karting produced a strong response even at lower speeds because drivers had to stay focused and actively control the vehicle. The passenger ride was different. The study suggests the thrill comes more from feeling focused and in control than from speed alone.

Feeling in Control Can Separate Thrill From Stress

Excitement and fear can cause some of the same physical reactions, so the study suggests that feeling in control made a big difference. When drivers felt focused and comfortable handling the vehicle, the experience stayed exciting. When they started to feel overwhelmed, it was more likely to turn stressful.

That may be why a familiar road or responsive car can still feel fun without driving aggressively.

For U.S. drivers, that doesn’t mean seeking out faster roads or pushing a vehicle harder. Public roads introduce traffic, pedestrians, intersections, weather, and other factors that drivers can’t control. The NHTSA says speeding increases stopping distance and makes drivers more likely to lose control of the vehicle.

“Speeding endangers not only the life of the speeder, but all of the people on the road around them, including law enforcement officers,” NHTSA says. “It is a problem we all need to help solve.”

Comfort levels vary from driver to driver, and Castrol notes that the testing took place on closed courses with professional supervision. The study suggests that what makes driving thrilling has more to do with feeling focused and in control than simply going fast.