Previous studies have identified both person and vehicle related differences in road user aggression. With increasing attempts to promote cycling knowledge on anger expression among cyclists and differences between anger expression between cyclists and drivers is increasingly relevant. Therefore, a study was conducted with the purpose to compare self-reported anger expression among drivers and cyclists in Denmark. This talk will present the main results.


The study was based on the short form of the driving anger expression inventory (DAX-short, 15-item) as well as an adapted version of the DAX for cyclists (CAX, 14 items). Data was collected via an online survey including 2000 inhabitants of Denmark. A principal component analysis confirmed the 4-factor solution for both the DAX and the CAX which differentiates between (1) personal physical aggressive expression, (2) use of a vehicle to express anger, (3) verbal aggressive expression and (4) adaptive/constructive expression. Results showed that drivers scored higher on verbal aggressive expression than cyclists did, while there was no significant difference in constructive expression. The subscales for drivers and cyclists showed significant relations to age, gender, self-reported aggressive behaviours and traffic fines. Thus, women scored lower on physical anger expression, while older people scored higher on constructive anger expression. The effect of age and gender on anger expression among drivers and cyclists remained significant when controlling for exposure and other factors in linear regression analyses. These analyses also showed a relationship between a positive attitude towards driving and higher levels of anger expression among drivers, while this was not the case for cyclists.