The relationship between anxiety and aggressive driving - Essay Example

Aggressive driving is defined as any kind of aggression displayed by a driver, and can be characterized by the following traffic violations: excessive speed, frequent or unsafe lane changes, failure to signal, tailgating, failing to yield the right of way, disregarding traffic controls and impaired driving ("What is Aggressive Driving?", n.d). There are various factors that contribute to aggressive driving, some of which are losing focus while driving and not paying attention to the road, driving while being fatigued, and talking on cell-phones while driving.

These problems can be solved without much effort. To keep focused, one should keep both hands on the wheel, not taking the eyes off the road and avoid talking while driving. To avoid feeling fatigued, one should not drive while tired, should not daydream, and should stay focused on the road. Finally, in order to avoid talking while driving, one should cease driving and use his cell-phone ("What is Aggressive Driving?", n.d). However, not all the factors leading to aggressive driving can be tackled so easily, nor are they as simple to avoid or acknowledge as the ones stated before.

When it comes to psychological reasons such as anxiety, dealing with the cause is not so simple. According to a study conducted in 2001, self-describes aggressive drivers have more pronounced physiological response to certain scenarios on the road than other drivers. This is expressed as their muscles tighten and their blood pressure rises, as was found by the researches testing them. The findings suggest that these people tend to react to "emotionally evocative or challenging situations with hostile and/or defensive behavior".

This behavioral reaction to these types of situations and aggression of these people, as they admitted, does not only happen on the road but also in other cases. The aggressive drivers admitted to being angry