Caught in the Middle: Examining Pedestrian and Driver Responses to Aggressive Driving

Abstract

This study investigates the dual roles of individuals as pedestrians and drivers, focusing on their perceptions and attitudes toward aggressive driver behaviors and other traffic-related interactions. By applying Role Theory, the research highlights how societal expectations and role conflicts shape these attitudes, providing a deeper understanding of the psychological and behavioral challenges associated with navigating dual roles. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants (10 males and 10 females) to explore their experiences in traffic. Thematic analysis revealed two main themes: Pedestrian Behaviors and Driver Behaviors. Pedestrian behaviors were categorized into Predictable Movement Patterns and Unpredictable Movement Patterns, reflecting the ways pedestrians’ actions influence traffic dynamics and safety. Driver behaviors included both positive actions (e.g., Adhering to Rules, Respecting Pedestrian Rights) and negative actions (e.g., Aggressive Driving, Violating Pedestrian Rights). These findings underscore the complexity of pedestrian-driver interactions and emphasize the importance of Role Theory in developing strategies to foster safer and more cooperative traffic environments through targeted educational and policy-based interventions.

Keywords

• pedestrians
• driver anger
• anger expression
• attitude
• road safety
• role theory

Arada Kalmak: Yaya ve Sürücülerin Agresif Sürüşe Tepkilerinin İncelenmesi

Abstract

Bu çalışma, bireylerin trafikte hem yaya hem de sürücü olarak üstlendikleri çift rolleri incelemektedir. Bu roller bağlamında agresif sürüş davranışları ve trafikle ilgili diğer etkileşimlere yönelik algı ve tutumlarını araştırmaktadır. Rol Teorisi çerçevesinde, toplumsal beklentilerin ve rol çatışmalarının söz konusu tutumları nasıl şekillendirdiği derinlemesine ele alınmaktadır. Ayrıca, bireylerin bu ikili rol arasında yaşadığı psikolojik ve davranışsal zorluklara dair kapsamlı bir inceleme yapılması amaçlanmıştır. Toplamda 10 kadın ve 10 erkek katılımcıyla gerçekleştirilen görüşmeler aracılığıyla nitel araştırma yöntemi uygulanmıştır. Katılımcıların trafikle ilgili deneyimleri tematik analiz yöntemiyle incelenmiştir. Analiz sonucunda iki ana tema belirlenmiştir: Yaya Davranışları ve Sürücü Davranışları. Yaya davranışları, trafik akışı ve güvenliği etkileyen öngörülebilir ve öngörülemez hareket örüntüleri olmak üzere iki alt kategoriye ayrılmıştır. Sürücü davranışları ise olumlu davranışlar (örneğin, kurallara uyma, yayalara öncelik verme) ve olumsuz davranışlar (örneğin, agresif sürüş, yaya haklarını ihlal etme) şeklinde sınıflandırılmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular, yaya ve sürücü rollerinin dinamiklerini ve etkileşimlerinin karmaşıklığını ortaya koymaktadır. Bu bağlamda sonuçlar, daha güvenli ve iş birliğine dayalı trafik ortamlarının oluşturulmasında Rol Teorisi’nin sağlayabileceği katkılara ve buna yönelik eğitimsel ve politika odaklı müdahalelerin gerekliliğine dikkat çekmektedir.

Keywords

• yayalar
• sürücü öfkesi
• öfke ifadesi
• tutum
• trafik güvenliği

References

1. Ambak, K., Shamsudini, S., Daniel, B. D., & Ghani, A. R. A. (2017). Driver anger scale (DAS) among car drivers: How serious are they?. MATEC Web of Conferences, 103, 08001. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201710308001
2. Cinnamon, J., Schuurman, N., & Hameed, S. M. (2011). Pedestrian injury and humanbehaviour: Observing road-rule violations at high-incident intersections. PLOS ONE,6(11), e21063. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021063
3. Cloutier, M., Lachapelle, U., d’Amours-Ouellet, A., Bergeron, J., Lord, S., & Torres, J. (2017). “Outta my way!” Individual and environmental correlates of interactions between pedestrians and vehicles during street crossings. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 104, 36–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2017.04.015
4. Deffenbacher, J. L., Lynch, R. S., Oetting, E. R., & Swaim, R. C. (2002). The Driving Anger, Expression Inventory: A measure of how people express their anger on the road.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40(6), 717-737. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(01)00063-8
5. Dula, C. S., & Ballard, M. E. (2003). Development and evaluation of a measure of dangerous, aggressive, negative emotional, and risky driving 1. Journal of Applied SocialPsychology, 33(2), 263-282. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2003.tb01896.x
6. Duperrex, O., Bunn, F., & Roberts, I. (2002). Safety education of pedestrians for injury prevention: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials. BMJ, 324(7346), 1129-1129. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7346.1129
7. Febres, J., Saldaña, M., Herrera, S., & Herrero, S. (2021). Pedestrians’ injury severity intraffic accidents in Spain: A pedestrian actions approach. Sustainability, 13(11), 6439.https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116439
8. Feng, C., Duan, A., Qiu, J., Su, S., Guo, W., Yin, Z., … Zhao, H. (2019). Investigation of head injuries suffered by pedestrians in traffic accidents via videos. International Journal of Crashworthiness, 25(6), 680–688. https://doi.org/10.1080/13588265.2019.1633817

9. Feng, Z., Ji, N., Luo, Y., Sze, N., Tian, J., & Zhao, C. (2020). Exploring the influencing factors of public traffic safety awareness in China. Cognition, Technology & Work, 23(4), 731-742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-020-00655-8
10. Gibson, L., Creamer, M., Breland, A., Giachello, A., Kaufman, A., Kong, G., … & Halpern Felsher, B. (2018). Measuring perceptions related to e-cigarettes: Important principles and next steps to enhance study validity. Addictive Behaviors, 79, 219–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.11.017
11. Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
12. Hobday, M., & Knight, S. (2010). Motor vehicle collisions involving adult pedestrians in Thekwini in 2007. International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 17(1), 61–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457300903524870
13. Holman, A., & Popușoi, S. (2018). Ethical predispositions to violate or obey traffic rules and the mediating role of driving styles. The Journal of Psychology, 152(5), 257-275. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2018.1447433
14. Jo, H., Song, C., & Miyazaki, Y. (2019). Physiological benefits of viewing nature: systematic review of indoor experiments. International Journal of EnvironmentalResearch and Public Health, 16(23), 4739. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234739
15. Kalašová, A. (2022). The interaction between a driver and intelligent transport systems. Acta Polytechnica CTU Proceedings, 39, 16-22. https://doi.org/10.14311/app.2022.39.0016
16. Khan, S., Khalifah, Z., Munir, Y., Islam, T., Nazır, T., & Khan, H. (2015). Driving behaviours, traffic risk and road safety: Comparative study between Malaysia and Singapore. International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 22(4), 359– 367. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457300.2014.925938
17. Liu, Y., Alsaleh, R., & Sayed, T. (2022). Modeling pedestrian temporal violations at signalized crosswalks: A random intercept parametric survival model. Transportation Research Record, 2676(6), 707–720. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221076119
18. Ma, X., Liu, Y., & Guo, Y. (2023). Research on the conflict between pedestrians and right-turning vehicles at signal intersections based on psychological level. International Journal of Scientific Advances, 4(3). https://doi.org/10.51542/ijscia.v4i3.18
19. Nordfjærn, T., Jørgensen, S., & Rundmo, T. (2011). A cross-cultural comparison of road traffic risk perceptions, attitudes towards traffic safety and driver behaviour. Journal of Risk Research, 14(6), 657–684. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2010.547259
20. Özkan, T. & Lajunen, T. (2005). Why are there sex differences in risky driving? The relationship between sex and gender‐role on aggressive driving, traffic offences, and accident involvement among young turkish drivers. Aggressive Behavior, 31(6), 547-558. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20062
21. Öztürk, İ., & Öz, B. (2021). Investigating young male and female road users’ behavior as pedestrians and drivers. Studies in Psychology, 41(2), 581–614. http://dx.doi.org/10.26650/SP2020-0045
22. Péle, M., Bellut, C., Debergue, É., Gauvin, C., Jeanneret, A., Leclere, T., … & Sueur, C. (2017). Cultural influence of social information use in pedestrian road-crossing behaviours. Royal Society Open Science, 4(2), 160739. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160739
23. Persoskie, A., O’Brien, E., & Poonai, K. (2019). Perceived relative harm of using e-cigarettes predicts future product switching among US adult cigarette and e-cigarette dual users. Addiction, 114(12), 2197–2205. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14730
24. Pfortmueller, C., Marti, M., Kunz, M., Lindner, G., & Exadaktylos, A. (2014). Injury severity and mortality of adult zebra crosswalk and non-zebra crosswalk road crossing accidents: A cross-sectional analysis. PLoS ONE, 9(3), e90835. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0090835
25. Pradhan, V., & Bhattacharya, S. (2020). Benchmarking model for culture of urban traffic-safety management in India: Interpretive structural modeling framework. International Journal of Innovation Science, 13(1), 34-52. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijis-09-2020-0168
26. Reason, J., Manstead, A., Stradling, S., Baxter, J., & Campbell, K. (1990). Errors and violations on the roads: a real distinction?. Ergonomics, 33(10-11), 1315-1332. https://10.1080/00140139008925335
27. Ren, G., Zhou, Z., Wang, W., Zhang, Y., & Wang, W. (2011). Crossing behaviors of pedestrians at signalized intersections: Observational study and survey in China. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2264(1), 65-73. https://doi.org/10.3141/2264-08
28. Rosén, E., Källhammer, J.E., Eriksson, D., Nentwich, M., Fredriksson, R., Smith, K. (2010). Pedestrian injury mitigation by autonomous braking. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 42(6), 1949-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2010.05.018.
29. Royko, Y. (2024). Provision of a rational control mode at pedestrian crosswalk. MATEC Web of Conferences, 390, 03011. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202439003011
30. Saeipour, P., Sarbakhsh, P., Salemi, S., & Bakhtari Aghdam, F. (2023). A fuzzy clustering approach to identify pedestrians’ traffic behavior patterns. Journal of Research in Health Sciences, 23(3), e00592. https://doi.org/10.34172/jrhs.2023.127
31. Salamati, K., Schroeder, B. J., Geruschat, D. R., & Rouphail, N. M. (2013). Event-based modeling of driver yielding behavior to pedestrians at two-lane roundabout approaches. Transportation Research Record, 2389, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3141/2389-01
32. Schroeder, B. J., & Rouphail, N. M. (2011). Event-based modeling of driver yielding behavior at unsignalized crosswalks. Journal of Transportation Engineering, 137(7), 455–465. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)TE.1943-5436.0000225
33. Schwebel, D. C., Stavrinos, D., Byington, K. W., Davis, T. J., O’Neal, E., & Jong, D. d. (2012). Distraction and pedestrian safety: How talking on the phone, texting, and listening to music impact crossing the street. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 45, 266-271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.07.011
34. Seri̇n, G., Öz, C., Öz, B., & Lajunen, T. (2018). Türkiye’de yaya tutumları ve yaya davranışları arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi. Trafik ve Ulaşım Araştırmaları Dergisi, 1(1), 54–68. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/tuad/issue/36875/420890
35. Shehab, M., & Alkandari, D. (2021). Drivers' tendencies to engage in aberrant driving behaviors that violate traffic regulations in Kuwait. Transport Problems, 16(1), 19-28. https://doi.org/10.21307/tp-2021-002
36. Sheykhfard, A., & Haghighi, F. (2018). Behavioral analysis of vehicle-pedestrian interactions in Iran. Scientia Iranica, 25(4), 1968–1976. https://doi.org/10.24200/sci.2017.4201
37. Sheykhfard, A., Haghighi, F., Bakhtiari, S., & Pariota, L. (2022). Safety margin evaluation of pedestrian crossing through critical thresholds of surrogate measures of safety: Area with zebra crossing versus area without zebra crossing. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2677(1), 396–408. https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221099510
38. Stoker, P., Garfinkel-Castro, A., Khayesi, M., Odero, W., Mwangi, M. N., Peden, M., … & Ewing, R. (2015). Pedestrian safety and the built environment. Journal of Planning Literature, 30(4), 377-392. https://doi.org/10.1177/0885412215595438
39. Stryker, S., & Burke, P. J. (2000). The past, present, and future of an identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63(4), 284–297. https://doi.org/10.2307/2695840
40. Şimşekoğlu, Ö. (2015). How do attitudes, personality traits, and driver behaviors relate to pedestrian behaviors?: A Turkish case. Traffic Injury Prevention, 16(1), 84-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2014.880785
41. Thoma, M. V., Marca, R. L., Brönnimann, R., Finkel, L., Ehlert, U., & Nater, U. M. (2013). The effect of music on the human stress response. PLoS ONE, 8(8), e70156. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070156
42. Thompson, L., Rivara, F., Ayyagari, R., & Ebel, B. (2012). Impact of social and technological distraction on pedestrian crossing behaviour: An observational study. Injury Prevention, 19(4), 232-237. https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040601
43. TÜİK (2023). Karayolu Trafik Kaza İstatistikleri [Road Traffic Accident Statistics], 2022 (May 2023). https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Karayolu-Trafik-Kaza- Istatistikleri-2022-49513
44. Vasileiou, K., Barnett, J., Thorpe, S. J., & Young, T. (2018). Characterising and justifying sample size sufficiency in interview-based studies: Systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), 148. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0594-7
45. Yang, Y., Wang, Y., Easa, S. M., & Zheng, X. (2022). Analyzing pedestrian behavior at unsignalized crosswalks from the drivers’ perspective: A qualitative study. Applied Sciences, 12(8), 4017. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12084017
46. Young, D., & Casey, E. A. (2018). An examination of the sufficiency of small qualitative samples. Social Work Research, 42(1), 57–64. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svy026
47. Youssef, D. Salameh, P., Abou-Abbas, L., & Salmi, L. (2023). Driving anger dimensions and their relationship with aberrant driver behavior in Lebanon: Results from a national self- reported survey. Plos One, 18(3), e0283293. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283293
48. World Health Organization (2023). Global status report on road safety 2023. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240086517
49. Zhou, Z., Liu, S., Wen-xin, X., Pu, Z., Zhang, S., & Zhou, Y. (2019). Impacts of mobile phone distractions on pedestrian crossing behavior at signalized intersections: An observational study in China. Advances in Mechanical Engineering, 11(4), 168781401984183. https://doi.org/10.1177/1687814019841838