Expressing Anger Is More Dangerous than Feeling Angry when Driving

Anger is an emotion that drivers often feel and express while driving, and it is believed by researchers to be an important cause of dangerous driving behavior. In this study, the relationships between driving trait anger, driving anger expression, and dangerous driving behaviors were analyzed. The Driving Anger Scale (DAS) was used to measure driving trait anger, whereas the Driving Anger Expression (DAX) Inventory was used to measure expressions of driving anger. A sample of 38 drivers completed the DAS, DAX, and a driving simulation session on a simulator where their driving behaviors were recorded. Correlation analysis showed that the higher scores on the DAS were associated with longer durations of speeding in the simulator. The more participants expressed their anger in verbal and physical ways, the more likely they were to crash the virtual vehicle during the simulation. Regression analyses illustrated the same pattern. The findings suggest that, although trait anger is related to speeding, the passive expression of anger is the real factor underling traffic accidents. This study extends findings about the predictive effects of self-report scales of driving behaviors to behaviors recorded on a simulator. Thus, if in traffic safety propaganda, guiding drivers to use positive ways to cope with driving anger is recommended by our findings.