Taking the bus 'is better for personal health than driving'

Date: 20/9/2010

People who travel by bus experience significantly less stress than those who drive to work, a new study has concluded.

Psychologist Dr David Lewis, who coined the term 'road rage', found stress levels in bus passengers were 33 per cent lower than in motorists.

After measuring the heart rate and Electro-Dermal Response - which records skin responses to anxiety - in 30 participants, he deduced the stress caused by driving "can have long-term emotional implications".

"Boarding a bus can produce significant long-term benefits," Dr Lewis remarked.

He attributed the anxiety of operating a car to factors such as the brain having to work harder in heavy traffic and a sense that time is being wasted, because drivers are unable to complete other tasks at the same time, unlike bus passengers.

Last month, Neil Grieg - Director of Policy and Research at the Institute of Advanced Motorists - remarked the number of motorists who suffer from road rage is worrying.

Posted by Mary Treen