Aggressive driving, often referred to as "road rage", is a problem that almost everyone has dealt with, and many people have died as a result.
The best definition I found comes from Wikipedia:
"Aggressive driving is a form of automobile operation in which an operator will deliberately behave with contempt towards other drivers and drive in such a manner as to increase the risk of an automobile accident."People who drive aggressively often do it as a result of anger, impatience, annoyance, or frustration. They often try to voice their frustrations by how they drive, or by honking, yelling, or using obscene gestures. These actions can easily, and often do, result in an accident.
I am going to conduct a study to find out whether most aggressive drivers are male or female.
Hypothesis
Most studies have shown that men are more aggressive drivers than women. However, I notice just as many female drivers who are aggressive. Also, being a female myself, I often find myself driving aggressively. My hypothesis is that the percentage of men and women who drive aggressively will be about the same.
Methods
I will be conducting a survey that will ask the driver's age, gender, type of vehicle, and number of accidents they have been in. It will also include several "what would you do?" type scenarios, asking the participant how he/she would react in a frustrating driving situation. It will be a multiple choice format, with reactions ranging from calm to very aggressive and possibly dangerous.
I will then add up the responses based on gender. I will not be focusing on age, as I expect most of my participants to be college age.
Literature Review
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. (2009) Aggressive Driving: Research Update Retrieved December 4, 2009 from, http://www.aaafoundation.org/pdf/AggressiveDrivingResearchUpdate2009.pdf
Harris, P., & Houston, J. (2010). Recklessness in Context: Individual and Situational Correlates to Aggressive Driving. Environment & Behavior, 42(1), 44-60. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Ho, R., & Gee, R. (2008). Young men driving dangerously: Development of the Motives for Dangerous Driving Scale (MDDS). Australian Journal of Psychology, 60(2), 91-100. doi:10.1080/00049530701452095. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Intini, J. (2008). TOM VANDERBILT TALKS WITH JOHN INTINI ABOUT THE LINK BETWEEN CORRUPTION AND DRIVING, AND WHY A LITTLE ROAD RAGE MAY BE GOOD. Maclean's, 121(33), 16-17. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Aggressive driving. (2009, October 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:28, December 4, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aggressive_driving&oldid=320723454
Most of the time when I feel the need to drive more aggressively it is when I am in a larger auto. When on the highway I am much more forgiving to people that are doing things like driving below the speed limit in the passing lane when I am in the girlfriends Subaru than when I am in my Lincoln. It is almost as if people (myself included) feel they have more rights if they are in a larger car. In mining it is called tonnage right away; the larger vehicle always has the right away.
ReplyDelete