Driving Behaviour1. Why Highways are Good Laboratories2. Behaviours that Could be Studied on Roadways3. Why Not More Research on Driving Behaviour?4. Aggressive Driving Definitions5. Prevalence of Aggressive Driving6. OPP Study

a) OPP Study Coding Schemeb) OPP Study Coding Scheme Examplec) OPP Study Results d) OPP Study Conclusions e) Potential Applications of the OPP Study

7. The Focus on Driver Anger and Driver Stress8. Class Question: What variables contribute to driver stress?9. Job Stress Study

a) Primary Research Questionb) Dependent Variable: State driver stressc) Personality and Situational Variables Assessedd) Participant Recruitinge) Measuresf) Proceduresg) Resultsh) Applications and Future Directions

10. Road Rage: Havoc on the Highway (Film)

Why Highways are Good Laboratories

• High traffic volumes facilitate the study of infrequently displayed behaviour

• Drivers may feel deindividuated• Low probability of future encounters with the

same drivers• Certain behaviours (e.g., driver vengeance)

may not be seen off the road• Multiple stressors present in highway driving• Highways are ubiquitous

Behaviours that Could be Studied on Roadways

• Prosocial behaviours (helping, courtesy, cooperation, etc.)

• Anti-social behaviours (aggression, violence, vengeance, etc.)

• Social influence processes (conformity, modelling, norm formation, etc.)

• Deindividuation• Cognitive processes (attention, distraction)• Perceptual processes• Wayfinding & route learning• Stress and coping

Why Not More Research on Driving Behaviour?

• Funding difficulties: too applied for psychological funding agencies and too academic for road safety professionals

• Lack of funding for out-of-province researchers by transportation ministries

• Road safety professionals are mostly engineers and tend to view problems as attributable to technical reasons and see engineering solutions to problems

Why Not More Research on Driving Behaviour?

• The problem driver has traditionally been viewed as the alcohol consuming driver, so attempts to control this problem has dominated the international agenda

• Difficulties in securing cooperation to study behaviour on roadways

• Laboratory research is easier and more convenient to perform

Aggressive Driving - Definitions

• Aggressive Driving = “any driving behaviour that intentionally… endangers others psychologically, physically, or both”– more of a traffic offense– e.g., giving finger, cutting someone off

• Road Rage = “assaultive behaviour with the intent of bodily harm and possible homicide”– more of a criminal offense– a more extreme form of aggressive driving– e.g., chasing, forcing someone off the road, shooting at others

• Assertive Driving = unsafe driving practices without the intent to harm, usually due to self-oriented motivations

– e.g., speeding or weaving between lanes because late

Prevalence of Aggressive Driving

• Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received up to 500 telephone calls per week complaining about aggressive driving behaviour (Mitchell, 1997).

• 90% of American Automobile Association members reported witnessing an aggressive driving incident in the last year (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2000).

• 88% of Canadian drivers admitted to engaging in aggressive driving behaviour within the past year (Nerves of Steel Study, 2002).

Prevalence of Aggressive Driving

• 65% of Canadians considered driver aggression to be a serious or extremely serious problem. Ontarians were the most concerned Canadian drivers (Traffic Injury Research Foundation, 2001).

• Estimates indicated that aggressive driving contributed to 28,000 highway deaths per year in the USA (“Road Rage”, 1997)

OPP StudyWickens, C. M., Wiesenthal, D. L., & Rippey, K. (in press). Motorists' perceptions of aggressive driving: A

comparative analysis of Ontario and California drivers. In D. A. Hennessy & D. L. Wiesenthal (Eds.). Contemporary issues in road user behavior and traffic safety. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.

• At various times throughout the year, the OPP engages in well-publicized aggressive driving enforcement campaigns

• Motorists were encouraged to pull off to the side of the highway, and to call in and report aggressive drivers

• 14,406 telephone calls concerning driving complaints were made to the OPP Call Centre in the year 2000

OPP Study Coding SchemeA) Improper Speed - (i) Speeding/Racing

(ii) Unnecessary Slow Driving

(iii) Sporadic Speeds

B) Tailgating

C) Dangerous Lane Changes/Lane Usage

D) Improperly Equipped and Unsafe Vehicle

E) Disobedience of Traffic Signs and Signals

F) Hostile Driver Displays

G) Erratic Driver

H) Driver Inattention

I) Hazardous Road Conditions Not Attributable to Driver Behaviour

J) Cannot be Classified

• Each call could be placed in any one or more categories.

OPP StudyCoding Scheme Example

• “Possibly impaired, weaving, nearly forced me off the road, no headlights.”

• Coded as:• Erratic driver• Dangerous lane changes and lane usage• Improperly equipped and unsafe vehicle

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Monthly Complaints to the OPP N=14406

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Daily Complaints to the OPPN=14406

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Time of Complaints to the OPPN=14406

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OPP Study Conclusions

• Increased traffic congestion is related to Increased traffic congestion is related to the number of reported incidents of the number of reported incidents of aggressive driving behaviour. This is aggressive driving behaviour. This is consistent with the findings of Hennessy consistent with the findings of Hennessy & Wiesenthal (1997, 1999), who found & Wiesenthal (1997, 1999), who found evidence for congestion-induced stress evidence for congestion-induced stress leading to aggressive roadway leading to aggressive roadway behaviours.behaviours.

Potential Applications of the OPP Study

• Identification of appropriate targets and time periods for future OPP enforcement campaigns

• Focus of media campaigns, advertisements, and warning signs

• Themes for driver education and testing

The Focus on Driver Anger and Driver Stress

• Causal or correlational relationship

• Limitations of research methodology

What variables contribute to driver stress?

Job Stress StudyWickens, C. M., & Wiesenthal, D. L. (2005). State driver stress as a function of occupational stress,

traffic congestion, and trait stress susceptibility. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 10, 83-97.

• Primary Research Question: – What is the effect of job stress on state driver

stress?

• Dependent Variable:– State Driver Stress = the stress experienced

by the driver in the actual driving environment

Personality and Situational Variables Assessed in the Job Stress Study

• Traffic congestion

• Trait driver stress

(general disposition or trait susceptibility to driver stress)

• Occupational stress

• Time urgency

• Perceived control

• Gender

Participant Recruiting in the Job Stress Study

• Snowball sampling

• Criteria for Participation:– Travel home from work alone– Along a 400- or similar series highway– Encounter both high and low traffic congestion

on highway during this commute

• Sought 59, only got 42! From a wide variety of workplaces!

Measures in the Job Stress Study

• Trait Driver Stress - Driving Behaviour Inventory General

(DBI-Gen)

• State Driver Stress - State Driver Stress Questionnaire (SDSQ)

• Occupational Stress - Job Stress Survey (JSS)

• Demographic and Vehicle Information

Please indicate the extent to which you agree with each item, in general, when you drive your vehicle.

0 ------------------------------ 50 ------------------------------ 100TOTALLY MODERATELY TOTALLYDISAGREE AGREE AGREE

1. In general I mind being overtaken.2. I am annoyed to drive behind slow moving vehicles.3. Driving usually makes me feel aggressive.4. When I try but fail to overtake I am usually bothered.5. I am usually patient during the rush hour.6. I lose my temper when another driver does something silly.7. Driving usually makes me feel frustrated.8. When I try but fail to overtake I am usually frustrated.9. I feel tense when overtaking another vehicle.10. When irritated, I drive aggressively.11. I feel satisfied when overtaking another vehicle.

Procedures for the Job Stress Study

• Completed DBI-Gen, JSS, and demographic, occupational, and vehicle use survey.

• Identified high and low traffic areas and places to safely park vehicle.

• On evening of the testing session, drove through first traffic area and called experimenter. SDSQ was administered over phone. Procedures repeated for second traffic area.

Results of Job Stress Study

• Drivers experienced more state driver stress in high traffic congestion.

• High trait stress drivers experienced more state driver stress.

• More time-urgent drivers experienced more state driver stress.

• Drivers with more perceived control experienced less stress.

• Job stress led to more driver stress in light traffic congestion but not high traffic congestion.

• What?#!....Hmm…..

Results of Job Stress Study

Curvilinear Relationship?

• LOW CONGESTION: Minimal cognitive resources required, thus occupational stressors able to impact on a driver’s perception of the roadway environment.

• MEDIUM (CROWDED BUT MOVING) CONGESTION: More attention and focus required for safe operation of the vehicle. This more intense concentration prevents occupational stressors from entering a driver’s immediate consciousness and adding to the immediate experience of driver stress.

• HIGH (STOP-AND-GO) CONGESTION: Minimal cognitive resources required, thus occupational stressors able to impact on a driver’s perception of the roadway environment.

• Men and women reported similar levels of state driver stress.

• This is consistent with previous research:– Aggressive Driving = no gender difference– Road Rage = more men than women

Results of Job Stress Study

Applications and Future Directions of Job Stress Study

• Education and treatment programs

Applications and Future Directions of Job Stress Study

• Springboard to other research – E.g. effects of driver stress on job stress

• Reduces frustration tolerance• Increases social hostility• Increases perception of workplace hassles

• Cost of employee commuting in terms of lost employee productivity, strained employee relations, employee lateness and absenteeism, etc.??

• Encourage employers to reduce both job stress (through employee assistance programs, conflict mediation, etc.) and driver stress (through flex hours and work-from-home opportunities)??

Final Exam

• When: December 8th, 8:00 am

• Where:– Last name A-I: SHE 554– Last name J-R: SHE 560– Last name S-Z: SHE 598