Road rage is very easy to catch, but it can become a real problem when it starts to affect the way people drive.
Here, scientists from the University of Warwick have identified some of the most common behaviors of aggressive drivers.
They say this will help self-driving cars identify and respond appropriately to road users who may lose their temper.
This happened after a study found that women are more likely to suffer from road rage than men.
Learning about aggressive driving behaviors will also make those who exhibit them aware that they are doing so in order to take the necessary steps to relax.
Previous research has shown that road rage affects women more than men, and women are more likely to lose their attention behind the wheel.
Researchers have suggested that women have an innate “early warning system” that traces their sense of impending danger back to our earliest ancestors.
In their study, published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, researchers analyzed the results of 34 published studies on road rage.
They focused heavily on asking participants to recall an angry memory before using a driving simulator to put them in an aggressive situation.
They describe a driver as aggressive when he engages in behavior that intentionally puts others at risk psychologically, physically, or both.
From these findings, the researchers identified two main types of aggressive driving behavior.
First, aggressive drivers were 5.3 km/h faster and made 2.5 times more mistakes than non-aggressive drivers.
Errors include failure to signal when changing direction, collisions, breaking stop signs and exceeding speed limits.
The researchers say that drivers may speed up as a way of relieving their frustration, for example, when faced with slow traffic or a slow driver.
The anger they feel or express, such as yelling, can distract them from driving and lead to more mistakes.
The researchers say the finding could help identify aggressive driving behaviors and “build the basis for an aggressive in-vehicle driving monitoring system.” .
The findings could also help improve autonomous driving technologies.
Source: Daily Mail
Source: Arabic RT
