Effects of anger and collision history on driver space preference

摘要

Driver space has been defined as the personal space extending from the driver to surround the vehicle in traffic. The current study explored if emotions have an influence on driver space preference. A sample of 39 drivers completed a projective measure of their driver space preference under the influence of state emotions. Three different emotion states were induced in each participant during the experiment, including anger, happiness, and neutral. The results showed that participants preferred larger space when angered compared to the other two states. However, the happy state did not change driver space preference compared to the neutral condition. Meanwhile, history of collisions also had some impact on driver space preference, where those with more collisions over the past three years reported larger driver space preference. In conclusion, driver space preference appears to be influenced by both emotion state and driving experience. These results provide some new perspectives about driver space preference which may be beneficial to more deeply understand the protective function of space that can help build a safer traffic environment. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.