Bus drivers’ anger and anger expression in driver–passenger conflicts

Abstract

Bus driver anger due to passenger misbehavior may lead to serious bus accidents, yet there are no mature tools available to capture bus driver reactions during driver–passenger conflicts. The bus driver anger scale (BDAS) and the bus driver anger expression inventory (BDAX) were developed to measure the anger levels and expressions of drivers in such conflicts. A bus driver anger model was developed based on 400 questionnaires in Changsha, China. The findings indicate that drivers are most likely to be angered by passenger violations and quarrels among passengers. Drivers irritated by passenger irregularities tend to employ personal aggressive expression or adaptive/constructive expression. Disputes among passengers may lead drivers to resort to unreasonable methods of venting their emotions. Moreover, passengers’ rude behaviors can trigger bus drivers’ aggressive personal expressions. Therefore, it is necessary to establish passenger regulations and encourage drivers to express their anger reasonably in driver–passenger conflicts.