Gender Differences In Road Rage

Gender Differences On the Road

Abstract
Road rage is a form of aggressive behavior that effects everyone on the road ways. Reports on road rage and aggressive driving show that nearly everyone who drives may display or be affected by such behavior. Males however, the staple of territorial and aggressive behavior, do appear to be larger perpetrators of road rage than females. Studies comparing male and female levels of aggression and territorial behavior find that males are substantially more likely than females to be perpetrators of aggression and/or territorial behavior, which are both defining characteristics of road rage. Offenders of road rage, according to Canary and associates (Canary, Michelson & Switzer, 2009), largely rely on Vehicular Communication (e.g., tailgating, honking the horn), Aggressive Communication (e.g., obscene gestures, threats), and Avoidance (e.g., ignore the other person) to manage road rage episodes. Future research is suggested in the use of a larger sample within the United States and perhaps according to region in regards to gender.

Gender Differences On the Road
Road rage is seen as an act of aggression and can also be stemmed from natural territorial tendencies. Given the fact that road rage is a hostile act of aggression it is easy to hypothesize that males are more often the perpetrators of road rage than females. The Iowa Department of Transportation (IDT) characterizes road rage as a societal condition when the reaction to what is perceived as hostile traffic situations is loss of temper. Road rage is often expressed in one of two ways: Vehicular Communication (e.g., honking, tail-gating, etc.) and/or Aggressive Communication (e.g., vulgar language, hand gestures,