p93: comparison effect of aggressive behavior on road traffic accidents between iranian and british drivers

frustrating situations that impede or prevent some form of ongoing goal-directed behavior are believed to act as a catalyst for aggressive behavior. from social learning approaches aggression is a learned response through observation or imitation of socially relevant others. many psychological factors are at play in aggressive driving and many may prove difficult to control. human beings are naturally prone to territoriality and have the tendency to view their vehicle as an extension of their personal domain. they feel threatened by other vehicles and respond aggressively or out of an instinct of self-protection. nowadays, aggressive responses are common among iranian people specially drivers. road traffic accidents (rtas) are leading causes of death and serious injury in military organizations. it has been estimated that annually one million people die in road traffic accidents worldwide. according to accident statistics, 9.1 finns, 8.9 dutch, and 7.5 britons per one billion vehicle kilometers were killed in traffic accidents in 2002 whereas the corresponding figure for greeks and turks were 26.7 and 73, respectively. based on statistics of 1390 in iran, 38.28/100 persons died during last decade. most road traffic accidents can be directly attributed to human factors as a sole or a contributory factor such as mood. in this review study, we compared relation between rta and aggressive characteristics of drivers in iran and uk. previously published results indicated iranian drivers behave more aggressively in anger situation than the british drivers. finally, it can be concluded that the high rate of motor vehicle accidents in iranian population may be caused from more aggressive temper of iranians. whereas, a broad range of risky driving behaviors contribute to rtas, preventing or changing these offers promise for accident prevention.