Road rage: An exploratory study on aggressive driving experience on Indian roads

Abstract

Background:

Driving on Indian roads is a stressful experience. A lacuna of research on aggressive driving experiences in the Indian set-up highlights the need to address this growing concern for individuals, society and mental health professionals.

Aim:

To explore and compare driving-related anger triggers and anger expression among high- and low-angry Indian drivers.

Method:

Two hundred randomly chosen drivers from the city of Delhi were administered a semi-structured questionnaire intended to understand driving-related aggression.

Results:

Honking, overtaking from the wrong side, loud music in other cars and hot and humid climate significantly increased the risk of experiencing anger among high-angry drivers. High-angry drivers were significantly more likely to engage in direct and aggressive expression of anger, including overtaking, verbal abuse, yelling and arguing, not giving space to other drivers, fighting, and hitting and bumping other cars in protest. Passive anger expressions such as holding grudges against other drivers and eating or drinking something to cool down were significantly more likely to be used by low-angry drivers.

Conclusions:

Drivers who are high on anger have a significantly higher risk of experiencing anger triggered by a variety of individual and environmental factors on Indian roads and are more susceptible to engage in aggressive driving behaviour.

Keywords

Anger triggers road rage active and passive ways of anger expression Indian roads

Introduction

Driving is a stressful activity and several situations on roads can trigger anger at the slightest provocation. Driving-related anger may be expressed as aggressive, violent and hostile driving behaviours on the roads, broadly referred to as road rage (James & Nahl, 2000; Roberts & Indermaur, 2005). Road rage constitutes a broad range of aggressive driving behaviours, ranging from milder behaviours, such as verbally expressing anger through closed windows or using the lights of the vehicle to express frustration, to using hostile hand and facial gestures, screaming, honking, firing gun shots, hitting vehicles and chasing vehicles, which can result in criminal acts, intentional violence and even murder (Dula & Geller, 2003; Wells-Parker et al., 2002). Aggressive driving behaviour is defined as ‘a behaviour which is deliberate, likely to increase the risk of collision and motivated by impatience, annoyance, hostility and/or attempt to save time’ (Tasca, 2000, p. 9). Research highlights that aggressive driving behaviour, including driving under the influence of negative emotions and reacting to them by engaging in risky and intentional acts of aggression, is more widespread as compared to violent and criminal acts, which are more characteristic of road rage incidents (Smart, Asbridge, Mann, & Adlaf, 2003). Data from various studies have shown that verbal and gestural aggression (making obscene gestures, cursing, yelling and honking) is the most common form of driving aggression (Miller, Azrael, Hemenway, & Solop, 2002; Wells-Parker et al., 2002).

Anger and aggressive driving behaviours on the roads can be triggered by several incidents. Lajunen and Parker (2001) have identified three important anger-provoking factors on the roads: impeded progress; witnessing reckless driving; and being the recipient of hostile gestures. Anger-provoking situations do not elicit the same response from all drivers. Aggressive driving behaviour is a behaviour that is deliberate, likely to increase the risk of collision and motivated by impatience, annoyance, hostility and/or attempt to save time. A form of externalizing anger and certain individual and environmental factors mediate the link between anger triggers and its manifestation on the roads. Anger triggers or situational factors that have been linked with incidents of road rage include increasing congestion on roads (Dukes, Clayton, Jenkins, Miller, & Rodgers, 2001; Sharkin, 2004), high temperature (Shinar, 1998), poor road conditions (Galovski & Blanchard, 2004), make of vehicle (Smart, Stoduto, Mann, & Adlaf, 2004) and anonymity of other drivers (Ellison, Govern, Petri, & Figler, 1995). A driver’s decision on how to respond to these triggers is further influenced by individual factors such as psychiatric disorders (Sansone & Sansone, 2010), personality (Galovski & Blanchard, 2004; Hennessy & Wiesenthal, 2002), demographic factors like gender and age (Björklund, 2008; Smart et al., 2004) and sociocultural beliefs (Novaco, 1998). Shinar (1998) further proposed that certain drivers could be identified as ‘aggressive drivers’ and are those who display aggressive driving behaviours most of the time and are more likely to experience anger and frustration on the road. According to Shinar, aggressive drivers are more likely to engage in risky driving including speeding, improper lane changing and tailgating, increasing the risk of road rage.

Aggressive driving has become a major social, health and psychological concern with an alarming rise in reports of incidents involving injuries and accidents related to this behaviour (Batten, Penn, & Bloom, 2000). More than half of all road traffic deaths in the world are accounted for by South East Asia and Western Paciﬁc regions of the World Health Organization and within this region, India accounts for the maximum number of deaths (Peden et al., 2004). In India, research has shown that only 0.8% of health research was on injuries, road traffic injuries being just 0.01%. This is notwithstanding the fact that injuries are estimated to be responsible for 17% of the health burden in India (Dandona & Mishra, 2004). In view of negligible research in the area of road rage in India, and increased risk of death and injury due to road rage incidents, the present study was planned to explore the situational factors that trigger driving-related anger and its expression among Indian drivers.

Method

The present study follows a descriptive study design. A total of 200 drivers, aged 18–50 years with a valid driving licence, driving a two- or a four-wheeled motorized vehicle, were randomly approached at eight different shopping complexes and car parks around Delhi. Heavy vehicle drivers (trucks, buses) were excluded from the sample. Prior ethical clearance was sought from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee and written informed consent was obtained from the participants. A semi-structured questionnaire consisting of 26 items was administered to participants; this pertained to demographicinformation, information about driving experience (number of years of driving, vehicle type, average hours of driving per day, time of driving, traffic fines) and anger experience on the roads in the past one year. The questionnaire included a list of commonly occurring triggers for driving-related anger and the ways of expressing anger in terms of passive and active strategies based on literature review. Participants could endorse as many anger triggers and anger expressions that they had experienced/used in the past year. Based on the frequency of driving-related anger experienced by the participants while driving, the sample was divided into two groups: Group A (n = 93) consisted of those who reported experiencing anger frequently (every time while driving) and Group B (n = 107) consisted of those who reported experiencing anger rarely (half or less than half of occasions while driving). The responses were analysed using SPSS for Windows Version 12.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences, 2003) and STATA 10.0 (intercooled version; StataCorp LP, 2005). The socio-demographic variables were summarized using descriptive statistics, while the triggers and expression of anger across high- and low-angry groups were compared using the χ ² test. Logistic regression analysis was carried out to ascertain the risk factors for driving-related anger associated with high- and low-angry drivers and significant factors are discussed. Adjusted odds ratio (OR) indicates the association of interest. OR and 95% confidence interval (CI) are given. A p value of .05 or less was considered significant. A receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to predict the accuracy of discriminating anger triggers and anger expressions between high- and low-angry drivers.

Results

The participants consisted of 67.5% males with mean age of 28±5.5 years and 32.5% females with mean age of 29±5.2 years. Three-quarters (75%) of the participants consisted of young drivers in the age group 18–30 years and 25% in the age group 31–50 years. Almost half (46%) of the participants had a minimum level of education as graduation and 41% as post-graduation. Over half (58%) of participants were professionally employed or working in service, 17% were students and 11% were self-employed. On average, participants reported seven years of driving experience (±4.1) with 49% of participants driving a four-wheeler (i.e. a car), as compared to 21% who drove only a two-wheeler and 30% who drove both. On average, participants reported driving a four-year-old vehicle (±2.7), 15 hours a week, approximately equally in off-peak (45%) and peak hours (55%), and 55.5% reported having being fined at least once in the past five years, 0.06% of which were due to drink-driving.

Table 1 summarizes the comparison of driving-related anger triggers between high- and low-angry drivers. High-angry drivers were significantly more likely to get angrier due to honking (χ² = 6.93, 1 df, p < .01), overtaking from the wrong side (χ² = 9.30, 1 df, p < .01), loud music in other’s car (χ² = 6.31, 1 df, p < .01) and hot and humid temperature (χ² = 5.74, 1 df, p < .05) as compared to low-angry drivers. The multivariate analysis revealed that the risk associated with anger triggered by honking (OR = 2.7, p < .01), overtaking from the wrong side (OR = 2.6, p < .01), loud music in other’s car (OR = 4.6, p < .01) and hot and humid temperature (OR = 2.61, p < .01) was higher for high-angry drivers as compared to low-angry drivers.

Table 1.

Comparison of anger triggers between high-angry (group A) and low-angry (group B) drivers.

Univariate analysis
Variables	Group A (n = 93) n (%)	Group B (n = 107) n (%)	p	OR (95% CI)
Anger triggers
Traffic jam	67 (72.0)	73 (68.4)	.5	1.2 (0.65–2.2)
Honking	68 (73.1)	59 (55.1)	.008*	2.2 (1.2–4.0)
Incorrect parking	44 (47.3)	53 (49.5)	.75	0.91 (0.52–1.5)
Overtaking from wrong side	72 (77.4)	61 (57.0)	.002*	2.58 (1.3–4.8)
Speeding	23 (24.7)	29 (27.1)	.70	0.88 (0.46–1.68)
Loud music in other cars	85 (91.4)	84 (78.5)	.01*	2.9 (1.2–6.8)
Hot and humid temperature	45 (48.4)	34 (31.8)	.01*	2.0 (1.13–3.5)
Long distances	24 (25.8)	23 (21.5)	.47	1.2 (0.66–2.4)
Important meetings and deadlines	20 (21.5)	25 (23.4)	.75	0.89 (0.46–1.7)
Heavy density of traffic	23 (24.7)	31 (29.0)	.50	0.80 (0.42–1.5)
Roads in bad condition	19 (20.4)	21 (19.6)	.88	1.0 (0.52–2.1)
Varied kinds of vehicles on road	13 (14.0)	17 (16.0)	.70	0.86 (0.40–1.8)

p < .05.

The expression of driving-related anger was understood in terms of active and passive ways of anger expression on the roads and is represented in Table 2. Comparison between high- and low-angry drivers indicated that low-angry drivers were significantly more likely to use passive ways of expressing driving-related anger, such as harbouring grudges (χ² = 34.71, 1 df, p < .001) and drinking water or eating something to cool down (χ² = 3.97, 1 df, p < .05). On the other hand, high-angry drivers reported engaging in more active ways of anger expression, such as making abusive remarks inside the car (χ² = 25.25, 1 df, p < .001), engaging in aggressive acts such as hitting, pushing and bumping in protest (χ² = 34.39, 1 df, p < .001), yelling and arguing (χ² = 23.32, 1 df, p < .001), not giving space to the other driver (χ² = 17.26, 1 df, p < .001) and overtaking the other driver (χ² = 12.09, 1 df, p < .01). Low-angry drivers were more likely to discuss and compromise the problem to find a solution (χ² = 6.51, 1 df, p < .05) as compared to high-angry drivers. Multivariate analysis revealed that the odds of using passive ways of expressing driving-related anger were higher for low-angry drivers, whereas the odds of using active anger expression on roads were higher for high-angry drivers. Low-angry drivers had significantly higher odds of engaging in harbouring grudges (OR = 0.15, p ≤ .01) and drinking water or eating something to cool down (OR = 0.36, p < .05). High-angry drivers had significantly higher odds of expressing anger on roads by making abusive remarks inside the car (OR = 4.78, p < .01), engaging in aggressive acts like hitting, breaking or destroying something, fighting or bumping other car in protest (OR = 13.80, p < .001), yelling and arguing (OR = 4.06, p < .01) and overtaking the other driver (OR = 3.36, p < .01) as compared to low-angry drivers.

Table 2.

Comparison of anger expression strategies between high-angry (group A) and low-angry (groups B) drivers.

Univariate analysis
Variables	Group A (n = 93) n (%)	Group B (n = 107) n (%)	p	OR (95% CI)
Passive ways of anger expression
Ignoring	50 (53.8)	62 (58.0)	.55	0.84 (0.48–1.47)
Glare/frown	56 (60.2)	62 (58.0)	.74	1.0 (0.62–1.9)
Blame the other driver	12 (12.9)	14 (13.1)	.97	0.98 (0.43–2.2)
Take a deep breath and cool down	32 (34.4)	44 (41.1)	.32	0.75 (0.42–1.33)
Harbour grudges	16 (17.2)	62 (57.9)	< .001*	0.15 (0.07–0.29)
Drink water/eat something	39 (42)	60 (56.1)	.04*	0.56 (0.32–0.99)
Active ways to express anger on roads
Make abusive remarks inside the car/to the other driver	59 (63.4)	30 (28.0)	< .001*	4.45 (2.45–8.0)
Hit, break or destroy something, fight, bump other car in protest	90 (96.8)	67 (62.6)	< .001*	17.9 (5.3–60.37)
Yell and argue	38 (40.9)	12 (11.2)	< .001*	5.4 (2.6–11.3)
Not giving space to the other driver	28 (30.1)	8 (7.5)	< .001*	5.3 (2.2–12.4)
Overtaking the other driver	36 (38.7)	18 (16.8)	.001*	3.12 (1.6–6.0)
Compromise, discuss the problem and find a solution	11 (11.8)	28 (26.2)	.01*	0.37 (0.17–0.81)
Going in pursuit of/following the other car	8 (8.6)	5 (4.7)	.26	1.9 (0.6–6.0)
Make verbally abusive remarks	11 (11.8)	8 (7.5)	.30	1.6 (0.63–4.3)

p < .05.

The area under the ROC curve in Figure 1 is equal to .72, indicating that the difference in driving-related anger triggers in low- and high-angry drivers predicted in the present study would be applicable for 72% of the sample. The area under the curve in Figure 2 is equal to .88, indicating that in the present study the difference in driving-related anger expression among low- and high-angry drivers can be predicted for 88% of the sample.

Figure 1.

Area under ROC curve for anger triggers.

Figure 2.

Area under ROC curve for anger expression.

Discussion

Road rage incidents involve varying degrees of anger and aggression. The present study explores the experience of anger and its expression among Indian drivers. Around 46% of the participants reported frequently experiencing anger while driving and constituted the high-angry group in the present study. Anger while driving can be risky and has been linked to situation-specific aggressive driving behaviour (Deffenbacher, Deffenbacher, Lynch, & Richards, 2003; Dula & Ballard, 2003; Lawton & Nutter, 2002; Malta, 2004). Research (Underwood, Chapman, Wright, & Crundall, 1999) supports that experiencing of anger while driving may be a common phenomenon with as much as 85% of drivers reporting such anger.

Individual driving behaviours, such as honking, overtaking from the wrong side and loud music in other’s car, and environmental conditions like hot and humid climate were found to significantly increase the risk of driving-related anger among high-angry drivers as compared to low-angry drivers. These triggers were unique to the Indian scenario as overtaking from the wrong side and driving with loud music are a norm on the Indian roads. The presence of persistent environmental triggers like hot and humid climate adds to the driving stress. This can act as travel impedance and create frustration, which may be experienced in the form of driving-related anger (Kenrick & MacFarlane, 1986). Anger triggers such as honking, overtaking and loud music can be an expression of driving-related frustration from one driver and, on the other hand, is likely to trigger feelings of anger towards other drivers to whom it is directed. Previous studies also found that aggressive honking, playing music at high volume, overtaking and harsh climatic conditions were positively associated with road rage-related incidents observed on Indian roads (Gangopadhyay et al., 2009).

Environmental and individual driving-related factors can trigger anger in many drivers, but the expression of this anger is likely to differ among individuals. In the present study, anger expression was understood in terms of active and passive strategies. Low-angry drivers were more likely to engage in passive anger expression by harbouring grudges against other drivers or eating or drinking something to relax and distract from the anger-arousing triggers. Even in case of direct anger expression, low-angry drivers were also more likely to use relatively milder direct expressions of anger on roads, such as compromising and discussing to find a solution, as compared to high-angry drivers. High-angry drivers were found to engage in more direct, confrontational and risky behaviours of anger expression. If seen on a continuum, these strategies ranged from relatively mild aggressive behaviours like making abusive remarks inside the car and overtaking, to yelling and arguing and extreme behaviours like hitting, breaking or destroying something and fighting with other drivers and bumping the other car in protest. High-angry drivers have been found to express their anger more through verbal, physical and vehicular means, employing negative and less controlled forms of anger expression (Deffenbacher, Richards, Filetti, & Lynch, 2005). Contrary to previous reports of higher prevalence of gestural and verbal aggression on the roads, the present findings are indicative of drivers reportedly engaging in intentional risky, violent and criminal acts that can be classified as road rage. Although an interplay of situational, demographic and predisposing factors also influence driving-related anger expression (Shinar & Compton, 2004), engagement in overt acts of aggression by one driver tends to be reciprocated quickly, and a relatively minor infraction can quickly escalate into a major altercation resulting in injury, property damage or even death (Galovski & Blanchard, 2004). Therefore, drivers using more overt and direct strategies of anger expression may be at a higher risk of being involved in road rage fatalities.

Conclusion

The present study highlights that individual driving factors such as excessive honking, overtaking and playing loud music in one’s car increases the risk of anger among high-angry drivers on Indian roads. Further, the expression of this anger is likely to be different among high- and low-angry drivers. This anger is more likely to be expressed in the form of direct, confrontational aggressive behaviour on the roads when it is a high-angry driver as compared to mild and passive behaviours in the case of low-angry drivers. The susceptibility of high-angry drivers in the present sample to react aggressively and engage in road rage-related incidents to express their anger is a matter of concern as this has a direct impact on traffic violations, accidents and physical health (Deffenbacher, Huff, Lynch, Oetting, & Salvatore, 2000) and can further increase India’s health burden.

The results have implications for law enforcement agencies and government in addressing conditions such as poor driving behaviour, high traffic density and diversity of vehicles on Indian roads, which are potential triggers for incidents of road rage. Prevention efforts aimed at establishing new laws on driving-related violence, strengthening prosecution of offenders, revising norms related to the issuing of driving licences and setting up police helplines to report cases of aggressive driving need to be focused upon. Strengthening public campaigns to educate drivers about safety and psychological approaches to promote simple ways of handling driving-related stress can also go a long way to prevent aggressive driving behaviours and make driving a safer experience on Indian roads.

The results of this study should be interpreted by taking into account the limitations of this research. The sampling was done only from a single city, Delhi, which may not be truly representative of other Indian cities. But, as there are no official records of road rage, targeted sampling is the only way to reach out to drivers who would have experienced aggressive driving behaviours. This also limits the possibility of reliably estimating the prevalence of road rage incidents in India. These data are based on self-report and are therefore likely to underestimate the true rate of experience. Demographic characteristics and driving experience were not controlled for in the analysis of aggressive driving behaviour. There is also a need to ascertain how individual factors react with environmental factors to increase the propensity to engage in road rage and to establish a correlation between driver anger and self-reported aggressive driving instigated by different situations.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India for the grants to undertake this research study and Dr Guresh Kumar, Department of Biostatistics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi for help with statistical analysis.

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