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If you are a kind and considerate driver, chances are you will live longer, says the new study conducted by Queensland researchers. They are the first study to show how aggressive driving can have a poor long term impact. Road rage has been responsible for car crashes and more life-threatening consequences. However, the new study also shows a relationship between aggressive driving and poor health. "Being an aggressive driver could actually kill you in the long term," Paul Turner from motoring organization RACQ told 7 News.

For the purpose of their study, the researchers used a simulator to test the reaction of the participant driver to four type of road users - considerate, oblivious, aggressive and distracted. The heart rates and blood pressure prompted high stress levels when met by an angry driver. "What it came up with was up to six years after aggressive road rage behavior, that person will suffer health impacts," Mr. Turner said, as reported by The Marshalltown

The simulator measured the anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate under certain circumstances. But the road rage displayed the most threatening effects. "The aggressive driver increased participants' stress and caused them to make simple errors leading to missed turns and near misses with other drivers," Turner said in a statement. Other conditions, such as roadblocks or construction work, also increased the driver's stress levels, as reported by Huffington Post

There have been other studies that analyzed the relationship of stressful driving conditions and health. According to a study in 2012, the longer the commute of a person to work, the higher were their chances of high blood pressure and BMI.