American study: Placing "1 object" in the car can prevent road rage! Dangerous driving scores dropped by more than 20%
People lose control of their emotions as soon as they get in the car and point fingers at other drivers and pedestrians on the road. Aggressive driving behavior commonly known as “Road Rage” is often a major concern for traffic safety. However, perhaps aggressive driving behavior can be improved through “car smell”? “Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical & Experimental” research indicates that placing the aroma of “peppermint essential oil” in the car can help reduce aggressive driving behavior.
Can putting peppermint oil in your car prevent road rage? Study: Dangerous driving scores dropped by more than 20%
Essential oils are concentrated liquids containing volatile aromatic compounds from plants. Such products are usually obtained through distillation, solvent extraction or cold pressing. Essential oils are highly aromatic and have a wide range of uses, including aromatherapy, perfume, flavoring and medicinal applications, to name a few. A research team from Northumbria University in the UK tried to explore the relieving effect of plant essential oils on personal mood.
The research team recruited 50 subjects on the Northumbria University campus through social media. They were randomly assigned to two major groups, namely the mint aroma group and the no aroma group. The team used the driving simulation program “City Car Driving” to conduct driving tests and presented virtual reality driving scenes through VR wearables. Before the test, each subject practiced for 5 minutes.
Immediately after the exercise, the research team began testing, deliberately creating driving experiences that would arouse aggression in the subjects, including negative comments about other drivers, violating stop signs or signals, braking suddenly or for no reason, and getting too close to another vehicle ( Tailgating) and other behaviors, a total of 35 unexpected situations will appear randomly in the driving simulator. Test results showed that drivers who were exposed to the scent of mint while driving tended to exhibit less aggressive driving behavior compared to the no-scent group.
Mark Moss, the author of the study, said that according to the statistical results, the “dangerous driving scores” of the no-scent group were 26.18, 24.50, and 25.24 for men, women, and the overall average scores respectively; while the mint-scent group was 21.77, 21.33, and 21.56, and the scores were significantly lower. The trends were down by 17%, 13% and 15% respectively, with the most significant decrease among men.
Can essential oil aroma help improve driving mood? Experts point out that it is not a one-and-done approach
In response to the research results, Moss pointed out that aggressive driving has gradually become a serious traffic problem, and any measures that can reduce aggressive driving are more important than in the past. Car scent devices, which many drivers are accustomed to using, may help improve driving behavior and make driving more pleasurable. “However, the study still leaves many questions unanswered, such as how long the aroma effects last and how much aroma needs to be inhaled to be beneficial.”
Moss said emotional responses may have affected driving behavior in this study. Peppermint can indeed be used as a suitable aroma to intervene in driving mood, because it has been proven in previous studies to reduce driving drowsiness and has a mild sedative effect. “The use of plant essential oils is not a permanent solution to aggressive driving, but it has certain potential and value in improving the experience of road users.”
Are young people more likely to be “dangerous road users”? 18-24 year olds are more likely to speed, overtake, and run red lights
Compared with middle-aged and elderly people, are young people more likely to be “dangerous road users”? Previous research released by the University of Pennsylvania in the United States shows that young people aged 18-24 are more likely to engage in dangerous driving behaviors than road users of other age groups. In this study, the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia recruited a total of 384 drivers from across the United States, aged between 18 and 24 years old.
The subjects filled out an online questionnaire developed by the research team to measure their usual driving behavior. The results of the questionnaire showed that 44.5% of the subjects had at least one car accident while driving on the road, and up to 73% of the subjects had used mobile phones while driving. The researchers also found that people who like to use mobile phones while driving, Dangerous driving behaviors such as speeding, running red lights, or taking the initiative to overtake are more likely to occur.
Elizabeth Walshe, who led the study, believes that the use of smartphones while driving can be regarded as an early indicator of car accidents among young people. In the future, distracted driving behavior can be used to prevent drunk driving perpetrators and those who are prone to violating traffic rules in advance; the research data also It shows that the indicators between the two are highly positively correlated.
Walshe pointed out that perhaps in the future, assistance and voice warnings from in-car electronic products can be used to help reduce dangerous driving behaviors, but more importantly, the driver himself must have good driving concepts when taking the driver’s license test, otherwise dangerous driving will occur. What a disaster, I’m afraid I’ll regret it too late.
Source:
Aroma of the essential oil of peppermint reduces aggressive driving behavior in healthy adults
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