Emotions Felt At The Wheel And Taking Road Risks Among Cameroonian Motorists

Emotions Felt At The Wheel And Taking Road Risks Among Cameroonian Motorists

Avoulou Natacha Sonia, NgahEssomba Hélène Chantal, Mvessomba Édouard Adrien

University of Yaounde I

Car risk-taking is a concern for governments and road safety agencies around the world. However, few studies on this topic have highlighted the role of both positive and negative emotions. The few existing studies have focused more on negative emotions. Anger has been shown to be related to the driving situation and has deleterious effects on driver behavior. It has also been shown that anxiety both impairs performance and encourages caution. But nothing is yet clearly established about the role of positive emotions. This article aims to identify the different emotions that Cameroonian motorists report feeling when they are behind the wheel, generative situations and underlying risk-taking behaviors. From the semi-structured interviews conducted with 21 participants, it emerges that four emotions are regularly felt by motorists: anger, anxiety, fear and joy. The situations at the origin of these emotions are specific to each sex and the risky behaviors, depending not only on the type of emotion felt but also on the gender of the participant. This study is a course of intervention to be exploited to act effectively on the phenomenon of road accidents related to risk-taking. It can help to effectively define trajectories not only for future studies but also in the development of road safety strategies.

Keywords: road accidents, emotions, risk-taking, emotional generating situations

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Avoulou Natacha Sonia, NgahEssomba Hélène Chantal, Mvessomba Édouard Adrien. Emotions Felt At The Wheel And Taking Road Risks Among Cameroonian Motorists. International Journal of Psychological Research and Reviews, 2022, 5:58. DOI: 10.28933/ijprr-2022-04-0805

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