Discourtesy: an anger evoking factor among Iranian drivers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55329/myby6678Keywords:
demographic variables, direct hostility, discourtesy, Driving Anger Scale (DAS), progress impeded, reckless driving, Southern Asia, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)Abstract
Driving anger is known to be associated with aggressive driving, which can lead to a higher probability of accidents. Since the Driving Anger Scale (DAS) was first introduced in the US, different versions of the scale have been used in many countries to measure anger evoked by different traffic situations. The first aim of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the UK-DAS in Iran. The second aim was to examine the relationship between demographic factors and the DAS factors found in Iran. A total of 409 questionnaires were completed by Iranian drivers, out of which, 205 were used for exploratory factor analysis and 204 were used for confirmatory factor analysis. The results revealed a reliable four-factor structure in Iran including 19 of the original 21 items from the UK-DAS. These four factors were interpreted as discourtesy, direct hostility, reckless driving and progress impeded. Further analyses showed that younger, compared to older, participants scored higher on driving anger evoked by other road users’ discourtesy and direct hostile behaviours. With the factor structure validated in Iran the DAS can now be used in further research, for example to examine how Iranian drivers express their anger in different traffic situations. Cross-culturally, the results can be compared with other countries.
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Author Biographies
Hamid Reza Behnood, Imam Khomeini International University, Iran
Hamid Reza Behnood received his PhD at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. His research interests cover traffic safety issues including crash data analysis, road safety management and, recently, human factors in traffic safety. Since 2015, he acts as the assistant/associate professor in Imam Khomeini International University.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.
Alireza Shiarsoda, Imam Khomeini International University, Iran
Alireza Shiarsoda received his MSc degree in Transportation Engineering from Imam Khomeini International University, Iran. His research interests include traffic safety and data-driven approaches to transportation safety. He has contributed to research projects on prioritizing road safety interventions to reduce traffic fatalities and is interested in applying machine learning techniques to transportation safety research.
CRediT contribution: Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Software, Writing – original draft.
Gunilla Björklund, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), Sweden
Gunilla Björklund is a senior researcher at VTI (Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute). She received her PhD in Psychology at Uppsala University and has also a master's degree in Statistics from that University. Her main areas of research are human factors in the railway system and road user behaviour, with a special interest in emotions and decision making.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing.
Henriette Wallén Warner, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), Sweden
Henriette Wallén Warner is a senior researcher at VTI (Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute). She received her PhD at Uppsala University where she also acts an associate professor. Her main area of research is road user behaviour with a special interest in decision making.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Hamid Reza Behnood, Alireza Shiarsoda, Gunilla Björklund, Henriette Wallén Warner
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