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Driving anger, called "road rage", has gradually become universal phenomenon nowadays, which has been a concern to traffic management authorities. It is necessary to figure out impacting degree of the influencing factors on driving anger for taking the corresponding intervening measures. Forty drivers were enrolled to conduct naturalistic experiments on a busy route in Wuhan, China, where drivers' anger can be induced by various incentive situations including jaywalking, weaving/cutting in line, traffic congestion and red light with extra paid if completing the experiment ahead of reference time. According to behavioral theory and disaggregation theory, the influencing factors including the incentive situations and personal attributes (i.e. gender, age, temperament) were determined for proposing driving anger prediction model based on MNL (multinomial logit). Then, the sensitivity of each influencing factor on driving anger was analyzed by elasticity theory on the basis of the proposed model. The result indicates that age, temperament and illegal behaviors from surrounding people are decisive influencing factors to driving anger sates with different intensity because their average elasticity values for none anger (neutral), low anger, medium anger, high anger are 1.254, 2.713, 2.914, respectively, which are all bigger than 1. Moreover, the accuracy of the proposed model is 78.30%. The results can provide theoretical support for developing key monitoring or targeted intervention to deal with the decisive influencing factors for traffic management authorities.

In 1994, Deffenbacher et al. published the Driving Anger Scale (DAS), a tool for assessing a driver’s propensity to experience anger in road traffic. Since then, much research has used this scale to measure the driving anger experienced in various countries around the world. This study examines the scale’s validity for German drivers. It also relates their experiences of anger while driving to their experiences and expressions of anger in general, as well as to certain demographic variables. In addition, it compares German drivers’ experiences of driving anger to those reported by drivers from other countries. We distributed a German version of the DAS and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) to a sample of 1136 German drivers. Results showed that a 22-items version of the DAS with six factors produced good fit indices for German drivers. Furthermore, data analysis revealed small to moderate significant relationships between German drivers’ driving anger experiences and their experiences and expressions of anger in general, underlining the idea that driving anger is a personality characteristic that is related to one's general experience and expression of anger. Finally, German drivers' driving anger experiences differed from those of drivers from other countries in that German drivers reported less driving anger than drivers from Spain and New Zealand, comparable levels to those from Turkey, Malaysia, and the United States, and more driving anger than drivers from France, Australia, China, and the United Kingdom. In addition, discourteous driver actions and hostile gestures consistently triggered highest driving anger ratings whereas police presence was rated lowest. Given these results, we conclude that the DAS can be applied to German drivers in its modified version.

RTS - Recherche Transports Sécurité, volume 2020, La mise en évidence des qualités métrologiques de la version révisée et adaptée de la DAS auprès des conducteurs camerounais fait l’objet de la présente recherche. Cette échelle à six facteurs révisée et adaptée à partir de celle traduite en français [27, 28] a permis d’interroger 336 automobilistes des villes de Dschang et Bafoussam sur la manière par laquelle ils déclarent éprouver de la colère dans certaines situations de conduite. Les résultats des propriétés psychométriques réalisés (analyse factorielle exploratoire, fiabilité et fidélité) confortent la structure à 6 facteurs de la DAS avec des indices de fiabilité acceptable (alpha de Cronbach variant entre 0,71 à 0,81 pour chaque facteur et α = 0,94 pour l’échelle globale) et une interrelation entre lesdits facteurs et l’échelle globale (indice de corrélation oscillant entre 0,71 à 0,95). Une échelle de mesure de la colère éprouvée au volant est élaborée avec des propriétés psychométriques acceptables s’adaptant convenablement aux conducteurs camerounais. Les résultats obtenus sont soutenus par une abondante littérature et les stratégies de gestion de la colère du conducteur son proposées.

Angry driving is a risk factor for traffic crashes and injuries, however it has been understudied in Latin American countries. The main aim of the present study was to translate and adapt the short form of the Driving Anger Scale (DAS; Deffenbacher et al., 1994) to the Argentinean Spanish. We also included further situations linked to bad conditions of the road network in Argentina. The sample of the study included 988 Argentinean drivers from the general population. Exploratory and confirmatory analysis supported a five-factor structure which were named as infringements by another driver (α = 0.91), progress impeded (α = 0.77), hostile gestures (α = 0.95), police presence (α = 0.67) and poor road infrastructure (α = 0.84). The DAS in the Argentinean driver's context obtained good psychometric indexes. We also found effects of gender, age, traffic violations and crash involvement on DAS and its subscales. Our findings are valuable as long as they provide information that has not been studied intensively in low and middle-income countries. Fil: Escanés, Gabriel Adrián. Universidad Empresarial Siglo XXI; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Poó, Fernando Martín. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Psicología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina

Based on the short form of the driving anger expression inventory (DAX-short, 15-item), the present study developed an adapted version of the DAX for cyclists (CAX, 14 items). The data basis was an online survey of 2000 inhabitants of Denmark. A principle component analysis on the translated DAX-short confirmed the 4-factor solution of the original study differentiating between (1) personal physical aggressive expression, (2) use of a vehicle to express anger, (3) verbal aggressive expression and (4) adaptive/constructive expression. In case of cycling, the factor “use of a vehicle to express anger“ only included one item and was left out. Based on the results, reliable subscales were developed. Drivers scored higher in verbal aggressive expression than cyclists, while there was no significant difference in constructive expression. The subscales for drivers and cyclists showed significant relations to age, gender, self-reported aggressive behaviours and traffic fines: Women scored for instance lower in physical expression, while older people scored higher in constructive expression. The effect of age and gender on anger expression among drivers and cyclists remained significant when controlling for exposure and other factors in linear regression analyses. These analyses also showed a relationship between a positive attitude towards driving and higher levels of anger expression among drivers, while this was not the case for cyclists.

Public transport is an effective and sustainable alternative to private vehicle usage, also helping to reduce the environmental impact of driving. However, the work environment of public transport operators is full of adverse conditions, which, together with their high mileage, may increase the occurrence of negative safety outcomes such as traffic accidents, often preceded by risky road behaviors enhanced by stress, anger, and difficult operating conditions. The aims of this study were, first, to determine the association between work-related psychosocial factors and individual characteristics of public transport drivers and the rate of traffic sanctions they are subject to; and second, to assess the mediation of driving anger in this relationship. A sample of professional drivers (57.4% city bus, 17.6% taxi, and 25% inter-urban bus male operators) was used for this cross-sectional study, responding to a five-section survey including demographic data and driving-related factors, psychosocial work factors including job stress, driving stress, risk predisposition, and driving anger. The results of this study showed significant associations between work-related factors: measures of stress and self-reported rates of traffic fines. Second, it was found that driving anger mediates the associations between driving stress, risk predisposition, and traffic sanctions; and partially mediates the association between driving experience, hourly intensity, and job stress. This study supports the idea that traffic penalties reported by public transport rates are preceded by work-related, personality, and other individual factors that, when combined with driving anger, enhance the occurrence of road misbehavior that may affect overall road safety.

Background: The scientific literature highlighted the relevance of psychopathological symptoms and psychiatric disorders among the victims of accidents. The research that focused on non-fatal injuries has paid limited attention to mental disorders in adolescent victims of motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). However, adolescents’ emotional-behavioural functioning and psychopathological risk can be related to their likability of being victims of road accidents. Objectives: This study aimed to synthesize data gathered in an Italian emergency department, specifically focusing on adolescents attending the service for the physical consequences of a motor vehicle collision. Methods: An ad hoc anamnestic self-report questionnaire was administered to 410 adolescents involved in MVCs. Results and Conclusions: This preliminary report shows that non-fatal injuries are very common among adolescents, being particularly related to poor mental health.

Anger has been shown to be a motivating factor in aggression and it is widely accepted that driving anger may lead to aggressive driving. However, the link between anger and aggressive driving is likely to be mediated by drivers’ pre-existing cognitive biases and the subsequent situational evaluations made. This study investigated the extent to which optimism bias, illusion of control beliefs and driver anger predict self-reported hostile driving behaviours. A total of 220 licensed drivers (106 men; 114 women) completed a self-report questionnaire measuring trait driving anger, optimism bias, illusion of control and driving behaviour. Structural Equation Modelling showed that trait driving anger and illusion of control beliefs account for 37% of the variance in hostile driving behaviour scores. Optimism biases were unrelated to hostile driving behaviours. Thus, driving anger propensities and feelings of control over the situation, but not a general tendency to underestimate the likelihood of adverse outcomes, predict aggressive driving.

In the present study, the frequency, determinants and consequences of three relevant emotions in traffic were investigated. Based on appraisal theory, it was predicted that the combination of three appraisal components (goal congruence, blame and threat) affects the occurrence of anger, anxiety and happiness. Participants (n = 44) filled in a questionnaire containing background and personality variables, and performed a test drive in an instrumented car. During the drive, speed and heart rate were registered and the traffic environment was recorded on video. Participants verbally reported scores for emotions and perceived risk. The most frequently occurring emotion was anxiety, followed by anger and happiness. Emotions while driving were related to emotional traits. Emotions while driving were also related to traffic events: anger and anxiety were both associated with goal incongruent events, and happiness with goal congruent events. Anger was mostly associated with other-blame and anxiety with situation-blame. Anger was mostly associated with events affecting impeded progress, and anxiety with events affecting safety. Anxiety, but not anger or happiness, was associated with increased perceived risk and with increased heart rate. Participants who reported anger drove faster and exceeded the speed limit more often on a 100 km/road section than participants who did not report anger. These and other results are discussed in terms of appraisal theory and state-trait differences in emotion. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Kuzu, Duygu (Arel Author), CFA supported the original four factors, which all had good internal reliability.•Licence tenure was negatively related to the three types of aggressive expression.•The aggressive types of expression were related to crash related conditions.•None of the DAX factors was related to either minor or major crash involvement.•The DAX can be used with both professional and private vehicle drivers.The present study tested the four factor structure of the DAX on a sample of Turkish taxi drivers and the relationship these factors had with a number of other variables. Confirmatory Factor Analysis found that the data broadly fit the four factor solution of the DAX. These factors included three aggressive expressions: Verbal Aggressive Expression; Personal Physical Aggressive Expression; Use of a Vehicle to Express anger, and one Adaptive/Constructive factor. Driving experience was negatively related to the three types of aggressive expression. The Total Aggressive Expression was positively related to annual mileage and preferred driving speed, but negatively related to age and experience. The present research also found that the three aggressive types of anger expression were significantly related to potentially crash related conditions, such as losing control of the vehicle, loss of concentration and near-misses. However, none of the DAX factors was significantly related to either minor or major crashes.

BACKGROUND: Various studies have implicated psychosocial variables (e.g., hostility) in risk of dangerous driving and traffic accidents. However, whether these variables are related to more basic neurobiological factors, and whether such associations have implications for the modification of psychosocial risk factors in the context of driving, have not been examined in depth. This study examined the relationship between hemispheric preference (HP), hostility and self-reported dangerous driving, and the ability to affect driving anger via hemisphere activating cognitive exercises (HACE). METHODS: In Study 1, 254 Turkish students completed questionnaires of hostility, HP and driving behavior. In Study 2, we conducted a "proof of concept" experimental study, and tested effects of left, right and neutral HACE on driving anger, by exposing N=650 Turkish students to written scenarios including either logical (left hemisphere), visuo-spatial (right hemisphere) or "mild doses" of both types of contents (control). RESULTS: In Study 1, left-HP was associated with higher hostility and with more dangerous driving, and hostility mediated the relationship between L-HP and reported driving behavior. In Study 2, only right-HACE led to immediate significant reductions in self-reported driving anger. CONCLUSIONS: Left-HP is related to hostility and to dangerous driving, and it may be possible to partly reduce driving anger by right-HACE. Future studies must replicate these findings with objective measures, more enduring interventions and longer follow-ups. Language: en

Both workplace stress and road rage are reported to be on the increase. This study examined the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model of work stress and its relationship with general anger and driving anger in a community sample of 130 Australian workers. It also examined international differences in driving anger, with Australian motorists reporting lower levels of driving anger than American motorists but higher levels than British motorists. Hierarchical multiple regressions confirmed ERI increased driving anger via the mediating variables of general anger and overcommitment; individuals suffering ERI may develop increased general anger or overcommitment, in turn increasing propensity to experience driving anger. Regressions also showed that overcommitment (but not general anger) moderated the effect of ERI on driving anger; ERI has a greater influence on increasing driving anger in individuals with high overcommitment at work. The results have considerable implications for the safety and emotional health of individuals who perceive an imbalance between their efforts and rewards at work, and overcommitted individuals may be at greater risk. The wider implications of the relationship between work stress, emotional well-being and driving anger in employees, along with the potential of driver education interventions, are discussed as public health issues.