Citation

Binge D. UniSA psychologia 2003; 29: 32-45.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

Road rage is seen as a growing problem worldwide. South Africa has a high road accident rate, with a high concomitant rate of serious injuries and fatalities. One of the possible contributory factors to this phenomenon is road rage. This exploratory study examines the context of road rage in South Africa. Road rage scores of urban minibus taxi drivers and urban light motor vehicle drivers in the Gauteng region of South Africa were compared. A questionnaire measuring driving beliefs, attitudes and behaviours was administered to non-random convenience samples of taxi drivers (n = 19) and light motor vehicles (n = 19). The means of the groups were compared for statistical significance using a t test. The results did not support the hypothesis that taxi drivers would experience more road rage than light motor vehicle drivers, but interesting attitudinal differences emerged. The findings are discussed in terms of prior research and societal trends. Possible explanations are presented. Problems were encountered with the data collection process, particularly with the taxi driver sample. Recommendations are made to avoid these pitfalls in future research. Further research is suggested in order to glean information upon which to base education and prevention programmes. This comes at a time when there are sweeping changes afoot in the minibus taxi industry and general driver's licence system that aims to make all drivers accountable for their behaviour, reduce aggressive driving and introduce pro-social driving.

Language: en