Investigating the Effect of Drivers’ Mental Workload on the Occurrence of Driving Anger Among Urban Drivers in Qazvin City; [ررسی تاثیر بارکار ذهنی بر بروز خشم رانندگان درون شهری شهر قزوین] Publisher



Abdi H¹ ; Zakerian SA¹ ; Azam K² ; Omidi L¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Iran Occupational Health Published:2024

Abstract

Background and aims: One of the most significant concerns in today’s societies is the issue of road accidents and the associated fatalities and injuries. Each year, road accidents result in numerous fatalities and injuries, with the human factor being the most critical element in these accidents. The role of humans in accidents is evaluated from various perspectives, among which individual factors, including mental workload and anger, are the most significant predictors. Therefore, the investigation, prevention, and control of these factors in driving are important issues. For this reason, the current study examines the impact of mental workload on the incidence of anger among drivers. Methods: This study involved 88 taxi drivers from the city of Qazvin. The Driving Activity Load Index (DALI) and the Driving Anger Scale (DAS) were used to measure mental workload and driving anger, respectively. In this study, the peak traffic hours (11:00 to 14:00 local time) were initially selected based on the city’s online traffic map. Subsequently, routes with heavy traffic density were identified using Google Map. A two-stage scenario was considered based on high-traffic routes to measure the mentioned scales. The measurement of the studied scales was conducted by completing the questionnaire in the middle and at the end of the route. The collected data were analyzed using paired t-test and correlation and regression analyses. Results: The study’s findings indicated that prolonged driving and the traffic environment can significantly affect all dimensions of mental workload (P <0.001). Mental workload had a significant impact on increasing driving anger (P <0.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that increases in the mental workload of drivers can lead to elevated levels of driving anger. This suggests the influence of the traffic environment on driving behavior. Therefore, measures and recommendations are needed to prevent driving anger to enhance the activities of drivers and prevent accidents. © 2024 Iran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.