New academic research has found that aggressive drivers have a 5km/h mean faster speed than non-aggressive drivers – and make more mistakes.
The study, carried out by the University of Warwick, measured the changes in driving that occur in an aggressive state.
Participants, some of whom were asked to recall angry memories to put them in an aggressive state, took part in a driving simulation.
The study found that:
- Aggressive drivers have a 5km/h mean faster speed than non-aggressive drivers
- Aggressive drivers also exhibit more mistakes than control groups – such as not indicating when changing lanes
The researchers say the findings are “significant” – particularly in the transition towards autonomous vehicles.
Lead author of the study Zhizhuo Su, PhD student at the University of Warwick, said: “While it’s unethical to let aggressive drivers loose on the roads, participants were asked to recall angry memories, putting them in an aggressive state, while performing a driving simulation. These were compared to a control group, who weren’t feeling aggressive.
“This research is significant because, as the era of autonomous vehicles approaches, road traffic will be a mix of both autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles, driven by people that may engage in aggressive driving.
“This is the first study to characterise aggressive driving behaviour quantitatively in a systematic way, which may help the autonomous vehicles identify potential aggressive driving in the surrounding environment.”
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