Anger amongst New Zealand drivers

M J M Sullman

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    92 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This research investigated the types of situations that cause drivers to become angry while driving. The Driver Anger Scale [Deffenbacher, J. L., Oetting, E. R., & Lynch, R. S. (1994). Development of a driver anger scale. Psychological Reports, 74, 83-91] was used to investigate driver anger amongst 861 drivers. The resultant data were factor analysed, producing four categories of anger provoking situations; progress impeded, risky driving, hostile gestures and discourteous driving. Overall levels of driver anger were higher than equivalent research in the UK, but appeared to be lower than that found in America. In line with overseas research, female drivers reported more anger overall and in two of the four categories of driver anger (risky driving and hostile gestures). There were also regional differences, with the drivers from the main urban areas reporting more anger than those from the secondary urban areas. Reported anger declined with age for all categories of anger provoking situations. Those drivers reporting a higher level of driving anger across all potential anger inducing situations tended to be; female, younger, from a main urban area, report a higher annual mileage, be less experienced (in terms of years driving) and prefer a higher speed. The overall level of driver anger was not related to crash involvement, and neither were any of the four categories of driver anger.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)173-184
    Number of pages12
    JournalTransportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
    Volume9
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - May 2006

    Keywords

    • driver anger
    • driving behaviour
    • anger
    • driving

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