Falling asleep at the wheel (shutterstock photo)
Most drivers have experienced or at least seen an example of road rage in one form or another. Now, researchers from the University of Warwick have identified the characteristics of aggressive driving, as well as how road rage affects both human drivers on the road today and the gradual transition to automated, self-driving cars.
This project is the first ever to systematically identify aggressive driving behaviors, with the study authors actually measuring the changes that occur in a driver as they move into a more aggressive mode. Aggressive drivers, of course, generally drive faster and more recklessly than calm drivers, putting others on the road at risk. Road rage also poses a serious challenge to researchers working on self-driving car technology.
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Four to five deaths on UK roads every day are “mainly caused by dangerous and reckless drivers”. Researchers categorized aggressive driving behaviors, revealing the key aspects associated with this dangerous approach to driving: On average, aggressive drivers were 3.1 miles per hour faster than non-aggressive drivers. Aggressive drivers tend to exhibit more errors than control groups. For example, not using a signal when changing lanes.
Aggressive driving refers to any driving behavior that intentionally endangers others psychologically, physically, or both. “Although it is unethical to release aggressive drivers on the roads, the participants were asked to recall angry memories, put them in an aggressive state, while performing a driving simulation. These were compared to a control group, which did not feel aggressive,” says study author Zhizhuo Su, a doctoral student at the Institute for Digital Health and Tool Intelligent Vehicle at the University of Warwick, in a press release.
“This study is significant because as the era of autonomous vehicles approaches, road traffic will be a mix of both autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles, driven by people who may engage in aggressive driving. This is the first study to characterize aggressive driving behavior quantitatively in a systematic way, which may help autonomous vehicles recognize driving potentially aggressive in the surrounding environment”.
While road safety has improved considerably in recent decades thanks to improved policies, infrastructure changes and improved vehicle safety, human error remains a leading cause of car accidents. “To make driving safer, our research focuses on methods to understand the driver’s condition, to identify dangerous driving behaviors, through the use of driver monitoring systems (DMS). This will allow the driver to be alerted when he is at increased risk of an accident and allow the vehicle to activate calming methods, such as changing the noise level In the passenger compartment, playing soothing music or eventually reducing the vehicle’s speed,” he adds. Co-author Roger Woodman, Assistant Professor at WMG.
“In the UK, on average between four and five people die every day in a road accident. This widespread destruction is mainly caused by dangerous and reckless drivers. Having met many bereaved families who live with the lifelong heartache of losing a loved one prematurely in such a violent way, I recognize the need To stimulate fundamental change across the road safety sector; which includes driving culture, standards and legislative options”, concludes Superintendent Cox, NPCC Head of Fatal Accident Investigation and OCU Commander in the Metropolitan Police.
“Those drivers who choose to commit road crimes such as aggressive driving, intimidating other reasonable and safe road users – should recognize the risk they pose to themselves and others, and frankly the law should remember that a driver’s license is assigned after a person has demonstrated himself. Be safe and earn the right to drive. We must strive To maintain high standards and ensure that the system sees the right to drive as a privilege and not as an entitlement. Right now I think the balance favors the individual and not the law-abiding collective.”
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