New study reveals driving is anything but relaxing
Life is stressful and driving doesn't help, it turns out.
Drivers white-knuckling the steering wheel as they cross the city can take some comfort in knowing most of the other drivers are feeling the same way.
A new study reveals two-thirds of Kiwi drivers experience mild to severe anxiety on the road.
And it's not just a crash they fear, it's also each other. Road rage and social conflict are helping cause that anxiety.
Massey University senior clinical psychologist Dr Joanne Taylor says the results of a survey showed 52 per cent of drivers reported mild anxiety, 16 per cent reported moderate to severe anxiety and only 31 per cent reported no anxiety.
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Taylor says the high anxiety level surprised her. And it's also a concern because it can have a big impact by stopping some people driving to work or visiting family and friends.
Perversely, it can also create more danger on the road by leading to exaggerated safety behaviour – such as slow driving and uncertainty when changing lanes.
Taylor says the greatest fears were having a car crash and dying, and worrying about how safe other people's driving was.
But there were also social fears at play.
Anxious drivers are worried about road rage from others, holding other drivers up, getting in their way, being criticised for their driving and making other drivers angry.
"My guess would be this is a sign of the times. Stress in society is really increasing and it shows on the roads when people are stuck in traffic."
Taylor says there is a relationship between anxiety and anger and for some people anxiety shows up as anger.
"But that's the minority. Mostly people who are anxious tend to avoid, be more cautious and tend to worry about what other people think of their driving rather than be the ones who are getting angry."
The study: The Extent and Characteristics of Driver Anxiety, is published in the Transportation Research online journal.
Taylor's survey was sent to a random sample of 1500 people, and 441 responded.
- Stuff
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