Road rage: prevalence pattern and web based survey feasibility

Introduction. Incidents of road rage are on a rise in India, but the literature is lacking in the aspect. There is an increasing realization of possibility of effective web based interventions to deliver public health related messages. Objective. The aim was to quantitatively evaluate risk factors among motor vehicle drivers using an internet based survey. Methods. Facebook users were evaluated using Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) and Driving Anger Scale (DAS). Results. An adequate response rate of 65.9% and satisfactory reliability with sizable correlation were obtained for both scales. Age was found to be positively correlated to LOT-R scores (r = 0.21; P = 0.02) and negatively correlated to DAS scores (r = -0.19; P = 0.03). Years of education were correlated to LOT-R scores (r = 0.26; P = 0.005) but not DAS scores (r = -0.14; P = 0.11). LOT-R scores did not correlate to DAS scores. Conclusion. There is high prevalence of anger amongst drivers in India particularly among younger males. A short web survey formatted in easy to use question language can result in a feasible conduction of an online survey.