Risky, aggressive, or emotional driving: Addressing the need for consistent communication in research
Section snippets
Definitional inconsistencies in the research literature
In congressional testimony, Martinez (1997), then director of the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) defined aggressive driving as that which “endangers or is likely to endanger people or property.” Martinez further explained that this includes a wide variety of driving behaviors, ranging from risky driving (e.g., running red lights, weaving in traffic, speeding) to violence (e.g., intentionally running a vehicle off the road, confronting a driver with a weapon). This
Toward a pragmatic, operational oriented definition
Geen and O'Neil (1976) observed some time ago that inconsistent usage by investigators and the many possible meanings of the word “aggression,” explained why scientific explorations of aggression have been historically confounded. But while researchers in the general field of human aggression have settled on reasonably comparable definitions, there is continued disregard for exactitude in the aggressive driving literature. The call for definitional precision and increased consistency in the
Chris S. Dula, Ph.D., received his doctorate from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in 2003. He received his M.A. from Appalachian State University in the Spring of 2000 and has been a research associate at the Center for Applied Behavior Systems at Virginia Tech since the Fall of 2000. In the Fall of 2003, he will begin a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Memphis. His area of specialty involves the study of driving behaviors and variables,
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Chris S. Dula, Ph.D., received his doctorate from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in 2003. He received his M.A. from Appalachian State University in the Spring of 2000 and has been a research associate at the Center for Applied Behavior Systems at Virginia Tech since the Fall of 2000. In the Fall of 2003, he will begin a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Memphis. His area of specialty involves the study of driving behaviors and variables, which impact the safety of driving performance.
E. Scott Geller, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, is Director of the Center for Applied Behavior Systems at Virginia Tech. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the World Academy of Productivity and Quality. He is past editor of Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (1989-1992), and current associate editor (since 1983) of Environment and Behavior.