Aggressive driving in Germany: Representative data on changes over time

• Representative German data show an increase in aggressive driving from 2016 to 2023. • Men reported more aggressive driving than women in 2016, 2019, and 2023. • Aggressive driving declined with age at the first and second waves. • Participants rated their own driving as less aggressive compared to others. • The gap between own and others’ aggressive driving increased from 2016 to 2023. Aggressive driving is a serious safety hazard on the roads and undermines civilized interactions in a traffic context. In this three-wave cross-sectional study, representative samples of car drivers in Germany (total N = 5,489) completed measures of their own aggressive driving, their perceptions of the aggressive driving of others, and driving stress. The surveys were carried out in 2016 (W1), 2019 (W2) and 2023 (W3). Means of self-reported aggressive driving were significantly higher at W2 than at W1 and at W3 than at W2 and higher among men than among women at each wave. Aggressive driving decreased with age at W1 and W2 and increased with annual mileage at each wave. Driving stress was positively related to aggressive driving at W1, but not at W2 and W3. Reflecting the “better-than-average” effect, participants believed that others showed significantly more aggressive driving behavior than themselves, with a larger difference among women than among men. The difference between themselves and others was larger at W2 and W3 than at W1, indicating an increasing antagonism on the roads. The findings highlight the need to develop effective strategies for reducing aggressive driving.