What Are The Signs Of Aggressive Drivers?

Pulse

oi-Staff

Thursday, November 12, 2009, 16:55

Want to find out whether the driver in the next vehicle is an aggressive one or not? Just have a look at his/her vehicle. It will give you the signs of aggression if the driver is one such one.

A Personalised number plate; rear window stickers and furry dice adorning the car are signs of aggression. They indicate that the driver may be prone to road rage too. This assumption is because of the fact that drivers, who personalize their vehicles, thereby marking their territory, tend to guard "their" road space against incursions.

Both the number of territory markers and attachment to the vehicle were significant predictors of aggressive driving. The mere presence of a territory marker predicts increased use of the vehicle to express anger. The number of territory markers predicted road rage better than vehicle value, condition, or any of the things that we normally associate with aggressive driving.

Drivers who are more territorial in nature are more likely to indicate this by personalizing their vehicles. In addition, they are more likely to respond in an aggressive manner when they experience anger on the road. Most drivers feel territorial about not only their vehicle but the space around them as indicated by the phrases: 'He's right on my bumper' and 'That car cut right into my lane'.

It is therefore believable that anyone who has taken the trouble to adorn or 'enhance' his or her car in some way may feel more attached to it and therefore more protective if feeling threatened or obstructed. But all drivers who customized their vehicles would succumb to road-induced anger.

Our cars are our own personal space. They are an extension of us. Why not decorate and adorn them as we wish? I am sure the tens of thousands of respectable motorists displaying National Trust for Scotland stickers, for example, will take great exception at any suggestion they have road-rage tendencies.

Here are the Top Ten Stickers

Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.

Rehab is for quitters.

I get enough exercise pushing my luck.

The more people I meet, the more I like my dog.

Apathy: I could take it or leave it.

That's not a haircut; it's a cry for help.

Excess is never too much in moderation.

I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

Being "over the hill" is much better than being under it.

Errors have been made. Others will be blamed.

Experts from the Colorado State University conducted this study. Dr Mark Sullman, a driver anger expert at Hertfordshire University collaborated in this study. Dr Nick Reed, a senior human factors researcher at TRL, the former Transport Research Laboratory shared his opinion. The Royal Automobile Club Foundation also expressed their ideas. The research, 'Territorial Markings as a Predictor of Driver Aggression and Road Rage', was published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology.