MAD-DAX: Anger and driver behaviours on the road

Anger is a common emotion in everyday life, and in the context of driving, the experience of greater anger has been positively associated with aggressive behaviour, near-misses and crashes. Although the effect of anger on driver behaviour has been studied, the role of the source of anger and the perceived level of skill of the driver experiencing anger, based on self-reported behaviour, is not well understood. In this context, the aim of the current study was to investigate the relationships of trait anger and driving anger with driver behaviours in relation to driver skills. A total of 369 drivers aged 18–58 years (M = 24.53, SD = 7.65) completed a questionnaire consisting of the Trait Anger Scale (TAS), the Measure for Angry Drivers (MAD), the Driver Skills Inventory (DSI), the Driver Behaviours Questionnaire (DBQ), the Positive Driver Behaviour Scale (PDBS) and the Driving Anger Expression Inventory (DAX). The factor analyses for the Turkish adaptations of the MAD and DAX supported the original factorial structures. For less skilled drivers, experiencing more anger due to the behaviours of others was associated with more errors. For skilled drivers, higher levels of anger due to the behaviours of others were associated with more personal physical anger expression and positive behaviours. Similarly, for the same group of drivers, higher levels of anger due to traffic delays were associated with more errors. The findings revealed a complex relationship between driving-specific anger and driver behaviours based on different levels of driver skills, contrary to non-significant relations of trait anger. Anger provoked by the context/situation-based reason, as opposed to trait anger, was associated with more general driving style (i.e., errors and positive behaviours) through driver skills. For the first time in literature, the relationship between anger and driver behaviour has been addressed in this study within the context of driver skill. The results provided valuable information to better understand how different situations that can trigger anger may relate to different behaviours for drivers with different levels of perceived skills. The results may contribute to more targeted intervention programmes to reduce driving anger, aberrant behaviour, and associated outcomes.