Habits of angry drivers revealed

New research by the University of Warwick has identified characteristics of aggressive driving.

In the first study to systematically identify aggressive driving behaviours, scientists measured the changes in driving that occur in an aggressive state.

Published in Accident Analysis and Prevention, the report found that aggressive drivers have a 5km/h average faster speed than non-aggressive drivers, and make more mistakes such as not indicating when changing lanes.

Roger Woodman, Assistant Professor at WMG and co-author of the study, said: “Over the last few decades, road safety policies, infrastructure changes, and improved vehicle safety have significantly reduced road casualties. However, human error, which is often a result of aggressive driving, remains a leading cause of crashes.

“To make driving safer, our research focuses on methods for understanding the state of the driver, to identify risky driving behaviours. This will enable the driver to be alerted when they are at an increased risk of an accident and allow the vehicle to deploy calming methods, such as altering the cabin noise level, playing relaxing music, or ultimately reducing the speed of the vehicle.”

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