Drivers are almost ten times more likely to be involved in a car accident when they drive angry, sad, crying or emotionally disturbed.

Furthermore, there is a relationship between anger and aggressive-dangerous driving.

The appearance of anger and aggression while driving does not only depend on personal situations, but also on conditions related to driving.

A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute shows that aggressive driving is often caused by negative emotions. Young people, especially those who do not have much driving experience, should avoid driving when they are under intense emotional stress, as aggressive driving is more frequent and intense in youth and decreases with adulthood. New research data shows that factors related to driving, such as fatigue, incorrect handling, distraction, driving while angry or sad, play a role in around 90% of road accidents.

It is well known that multitasking and driving do not go together. Even for the most experienced drivers, safe driving requires the full range of their mental faculties to be used. For example, when the driver is talking on the mobile phone one hand is holding the phone and the mind is on the conversation. Although the driver’s eyes are on the road, he does not “see” what is happening peripherally to the vehicle. This means that drivers who use a mobile phone to talk, text or browse the internet are less able to stay in the correct lane, recognize hazards around their car and respond quickly to an emergency. In addition, they are more likely to exceed the speed limit.

Especially young people use the mobile phone mainly to write messages or browse social media, as a result many times they drive at a slower speed, but their reaction time is delayed, they do not drive in the right lane and they do not adapt to the conditions of the motion.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), traffic accidents are the first cause of death for young people aged 15-29. Every day, around 1000 young people under the age of 25 die in road accidents worldwide, a number that corresponds to more than 30% of all people who die or are injured in a road accident. In Greece, traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and adolescents. In addition, according to research, the number of fatal traffic accidents increases dramatically in the early morning hours of Saturday and Sunday, i.e. hours of increased mobility of young people.

The Institute of Road Safety (I.O.A.S.) “Panos Mylonas” points out that there are three main factors that contribute to an accident.

Age, lack of experience and gender (men under 25 are 3 times more likely to be killed than women of the same age). In addition to the general risk factors on the road, such as increased speed, drinking alcohol while driving, not wearing a helmet and seat belt, teenagers and young people are exposed to additional risks, as they largely do not yet have the necessary experience to react in time and correctly. To the lack of experience is often added the ability to take risks which is particularly developed at young ages and can lead to risky or delinquent behaviors (sensation seeking).

Finally, the social and economic situation of the family affects the psychological composition of the young driver and increases the possibility of a fatal traffic accident.