FIELD STUDY ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS REGARDING VIOLENCE IN TRAFFIC AND ROAD RAGE

Abstract

Context and Aim: The road rage can be defined as the anger occurred while driving and its level can be associated with aggressive and risky driving, loss of concentration and vehicular control, and near accident misses on traffic. The aim of this study is to measure whether the attitudes and behaviors of people in the face of incidents in traffic are covered by road rage and also whether people are aware of their legal rights when they encounter violence in traffic.

Methodology: In this study, the factorability of the 14-item short form of Driver Anger Scale (DAS) was investigated among 421 drivers from Turkish population, and SPSS program has been used in the analyses.

Findings: Drivers had more difficulty in controlling their anger and showed aggressive behaviors when they felt they were at risk and could control their anger better in cases of impatience, such as waiting for a vehicle to park. The percentage of those who honk in traffic and of those who flash their lights when they get angry in traffic was 71% and 57%, respectively, which suggest that the acts of honking, flashing lights have become normal and are not considered as acts of violence. While 75% of the surveyed drivers, and 80% of the non-lawyers surveyed drivers stated that they did not know their legal rights when they encountered violence in traffic, 81% of the lawyers who participated in the research stated that they knew their legal rights.

Conclusion: Violence in traffic ranges from injury to killing, from insulting to sexual harassment, from endangering traffic safety to damage to property.  Although there are some regulations proposed in the legal dimension to combat violence in traffic and suggestions to enable drivers to control their anger, the main solution is increasing the level of culture and education.