The Effect of ADHD Diagnosis, Roadway Environment, and Traffic Aggressiveness on Aggressive Driving Behavior

Aggressive driving behavior poses a serious risk to public safety worldwide. Aggressive driving is described as a socially dysfunctional behaviors marked by unsafe driving maneuvers that pose as a risk to driver safety. Sixty-seven drivers with previous driving experience participated in this study. Participants were required to complete a series of driving behavior questionnaires and simulated driving scenarios. Furthermore, an electrocardiogram (ECG) was used to collect heart rate variability (HRV) scores as a measure of mental workload. It was hypothesized that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis, roadway environment, and traffic aggressiveness would have an effect on driving performance and mental workload. Results indicated that roadway environment and traffic aggressiveness had a significant effect on driving performance. Results from the HRV analyses showed that ADHD participants had significantly higher HRV scores than their non-ADHD counterparts. Collectively, these findings highlight the utility of HRV measure for evaluating mental workload among ADHD drivers. Our findings have practical implications for driver assessment, roadway design, and traffic safety.