Determinants of Emotional Experiences in Traffic Situations ... - OPUS

102 Emotional States of Drivers and Their Impact on Driving Behaviour!
anger-reactivity in various situations (Blows, Ameratunga, Ivers, Lo & Norton, 2005): men report
more anger when they are impeded by other drivers (Deffenbacher, Oetting & Lynch, 1994), women
are more angered when they are confronted with direct hostility, illegal actions of others or traffic
obstructions (Parker, Lajunen & Summala, 2002). Combining these findings, there seems to be a
strong situational component in the relationship between anger, driving experience and gender.
A more constant link exists between trait related anger and the actual anger experienced in
traffic situations, ‘state anger’ (Deffenbacher, Huff, Lynch, Oetting & Salvatore, 2000; Deffenbacher
et al., 2001). People show different tendencies to become angry in traffic, for example in frustrating or
provoking situations (Deffenbacher et al., 2003). Subsequently, a high trait anger leads to experiencing
more and intensified anger in those situations compared to drivers scoring low on trait anger
(Spielberger, 1988). This disposition to become angry in traffic is a construct labelled trait-driving
anger which is often measured with the driving anger scale (DAS, Deffenbacher et al., 1994).
Another important determinant of anger while driving is driving motivation. When driving
starts to play a role in personal identity of traffic participants and this becomes an obsessive passion
which controls their actions, it can lead to more and intensified driving behaviour (Philippe et al.,
2009). These highly motivated drivers tend to experience negative emotions such as anger in goalblocking
situations (e. g., impeded progress on the road or erratic driving of others) more often and
more intense (Philippe et al., 2009).
Personal Characteristics and Risky Driving Parameters
Besides the relationship between personal characteristics and driving anger, some evidence indicates a
direct influence of personal characteristics on risky driving patterns without driving anger (Fisher et
al., 2002; Krahé & Fenske, 2002; Reason et al., 1990). Males drive faster than women in traffic, which
could increase the frequency and severity of accidents. One important reason for that behaviour are
different risk homeostasis levels, which increase risk taking behaviour in men and could in turn lead to
higher speeds and more traffic violations in general (Laapotti & Keskinen, 2004). Furthermore male
drivers overestimate their driving skills, which could lead to higher speeds and to a greater
involvement in a greater share of motor vehicle accidents (DeJoy, 1992; Ulleberg, 2001; Yagil, 1998).
The findings for the impact of driving experience on (maladaptive) driving performance are
more complex (Lonero, 2008). There is a consensus that constant exposure to traffic (operationalized
with miles per year) shapes the mental model of the driver and improves the ability to detect hazards
(McKnight & McKnight, 2000) and assess risks (Ferguson, 2003). This leads to more adaptive driving
behaviour. Therefore, experienced drivers do not encounter as many critical situations per kilometre as
novice drivers and react more appropriately if such situations arise. This reduces the probability of
crashing (Laapotti, Keskinen, Hatakka & Katila, 2001). On the other hand a better understanding of
the traffic environment can lead to higher speeds and more traffic violations (Björklund, 2008;
Laapotti & Keskinen, 2004), which is a risk factor for other traffic participants.