-
Negative People are More Dangerous Drivers
Neurotic, negative people – think Larry David or George Costanza – are more dangerous behind the wheel, according to new research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Previous research has found a correlation between angry and neurotic personalities, aggression, and an increased incidence of car crashes. But little research has investigated exactly why this is the case. To answer this question, psychological scientist Jing Chai and colleagues examined the brains and behavior of a group of dangerous drivers with a history of traffic violations and crashes.
-
The Challenges of Driving While Dyslexic
Street signs are almost as old as roads themselves. Evidence for road signs goes at least as far back as ancient Rome, where milestones along roads were inscribed with information to help travelers navigating their way across the huge Roman Empire. Since the invention of the automobile, drivers have been lobbying for ways to make road signs easier to read at highway speeds. In 1895, the Italian Touring Club kicked off the call for better European road signs, and in 1905 the state of New York began systematically installing road signs throughout in the US. Virtually no research went into ensuring that these early road signs were actually legible for drivers.
-
Do Medical Dramas Inhibit Reckless Driving?
Research on “risk-glorifying media exposure” has shown that movies like The Fast and the Furious can encourage risk-taking behavior, especially for teenagers. But can certain media reduce risky adolescent driving? In a new article, social scientist Kathleen Beullens (Leuven School for Mass Communication Research, Belgium) and psychological scientist Nancy Rhodes (The Ohio State University) discuss cultivation theory and how television can build a new reality in adolescents’ minds — one in which they may feel more or less comfortable taking risks.
-
Driving May Help Prevent Cognitive Decline
Driving a car is one of the most cognitively complex tasks we engage in on a daily basis. Driving requires an assortment of cognitive skills including executive functioning, information processing, visual processing, and memory. As
-
Psychological Science Gets Behind the Wheel at NHTSA
Last week psychological scientists from around the U.S. gathered in Washington, D.C. to discuss innovative behavioral research that will be used to save thousands of lives. Over 200 million Americans drive a car on any given day, and each year around 30,000 Americans lose their lives in car crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is one of the government agencies tasked with finding ways to keep drivers safe. The newest head of NHTSA, Administrator Mark Rosekind, is an accomplished psychological scientist recognized for his innovative research on human fatigue and performance.
-
Driving With a Hangover Just as Dangerous as Driving Drunk
Driving home with a hangover may be just as dangerous as driving after too many glasses of champagne, according to a sobering new study. A team of researchers, led by Utrecht University psychopharmacologist Joris Verster, found that even when drivers’ blood alcohol levels returned to zero the morning after a night of partying, they showed the same degree of driving impairment as drivers who were intoxicated. “The hangover develops when blood alcohol concentration (BAC) returns to zero and is characterized by a feeling of general misery that may last up to 20 hours after alcohol consumption,” the researchers write.
