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'''Direct and Indirect Cost of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving'''
== '''Direct and Indirect Cost of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving''' ==
 


1. fatalities (425,000 per decade)  
1. fatalities (425,000 per decade)  
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Experts in the medical field have responded to road rage by viewing it as a psychological disorder to be solved through anger and stress management therapy. A more promising approach is behavioral and cultural in nature. Data on drivers speaking their thoughts out loud into a tape recorder while driving, indicates that feeling hostile and violent behind the wheel is a cultural norm, rather than a psychological disorder (see Reference 5). People imbibe their parents’ style of talking and behaving for several years before they become drivers, and then they act out learned aggressiveness and hostility. In the meantime, they also receive daily reinforcement from television as they watch hundreds of episodes of drivers behaving badly, suffering no consequences, having fun, and getting away with lawlessness.  
Experts in the medical field have responded to road rage by viewing it as a psychological disorder to be solved through anger and stress management therapy. A more promising approach is behavioral and cultural in nature. Data on drivers speaking their thoughts out loud into a tape recorder while driving, indicates that feeling hostile and violent behind the wheel is a cultural norm, rather than a psychological disorder (see Reference 5). People imbibe their parents’ style of talking and behaving for several years before they become drivers, and then they act out learned aggressiveness and hostility. In the meantime, they also receive daily reinforcement from television as they watch hundreds of episodes of drivers behaving badly, suffering no consequences, having fun, and getting away with lawlessness.  


'''Road Rage: Real or Media Hype?'''
 
== '''Road Rage: Real or Media Hype?''' ==
 


In 1996 the American media began to write stories about violent highway incidents using warlike language that highlights a spirit of battle on the roads:
In 1996 the American media began to write stories about violent highway incidents using warlike language that highlights a spirit of battle on the roads:
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Few drivers can claim to be free of hostile encounters while driving. Mostly, the incidents don't break out into the open or are ignored. People get used to them and consider them normal. But everyone runs a risk each time because it's not possible to predict which little incident will turn violent. The cumulative effect of our daily encounters with pervasive hostility toughens our hide, and promotes a culture of competition, intolerance, and mutual disrespect on highways.
Few drivers can claim to be free of hostile encounters while driving. Mostly, the incidents don't break out into the open or are ignored. People get used to them and consider them normal. But everyone runs a risk each time because it's not possible to predict which little incident will turn violent. The cumulative effect of our daily encounters with pervasive hostility toughens our hide, and promotes a culture of competition, intolerance, and mutual disrespect on highways.


'''Checklist: Your Road Range Tendency''' (based on James and Nahl, 2000 see References.  Reproduced with permission.)
 
== '''Checklist: Your Road Range Tendency''' ==
(based on James and Nahl, 2000 see References.  Reproduced with permission.)


INSTRUCTIONS: For each question, circle Yes if the statement applies to you reasonably well, or No if it doesn't.
INSTRUCTIONS: For each question, circle Yes if the statement applies to you reasonably well, or No if it doesn't.
1. I swear a lot more in traffic than I do elsewhere.
1. I swear a lot more in traffic than I do elsewhere.
Yes  No
Yes  No
2. I normally have critical thoughts about other drivers.
2. I normally have critical thoughts about other drivers.
Yes  No
Yes  No
3. When a driver in a parking lot tries to steal the space I've been waiting for, I get furious.
3. When a driver in a parking lot tries to steal the space I've been waiting for, I get furious.
Yes  No
Yes  No
4. I fantasize about doing violence to other drivers (e.g., using guns or blowing them up or sweeping them aside). But it's just fantasy.
4. I fantasize about doing violence to other drivers (e.g., using guns or blowing them up or sweeping them aside). But it's just fantasy.
Yes  No
Yes  No
5. When drivers do something really "stupid" that endangers me or my car, I get furious, even aggressive.
5. When drivers do something really "stupid" that endangers me or my car, I get furious, even aggressive.
Yes  No
Yes  No
6. It's good to get your anger out because we all have aggressive feelings inside that naturally come out under stressful situations.
6. It's good to get your anger out because we all have aggressive feelings inside that naturally come out under stressful situations.
Yes  No
Yes  No
7. When I'm very upset about something, it's a relief to step on the gas to give my feelings an outlet.
7. When I'm very upset about something, it's a relief to step on the gas to give my feelings an outlet.
Yes  No
Yes  No
8. I feel that it's important to force certain drivers to behave appropriately on the highway.
8. I feel that it's important to force certain drivers to behave appropriately on the highway.
Yes  No
Yes  No
9. Pedestrians shouldn't have the right to walk slowly in crosswalks when cars are waiting.
9. Pedestrians shouldn't have the right to walk slowly in crosswalks when cars are waiting.
Yes  No
Yes  No
10. Pushy drivers really annoy me so I bad-mouth them to feel better.
10. Pushy drivers really annoy me so I bad-mouth them to feel better.
Yes  No
Yes  No
11. I tailgate when someone drives too slow for conditions or in the passing lane.
11. I tailgate when someone drives too slow for conditions or in the passing lane.
Yes  No
Yes  No
12. I try to get to my destination in the shortest time possible, or else it doesn't feel right.
12. I try to get to my destination in the shortest time possible, or else it doesn't feel right.
Yes  No
Yes  No
13. If I stopped driving aggressively others would take advantage of my passivity.
13. If I stopped driving aggressively others would take advantage of my passivity.
Yes  No
Yes  No
14. I feel unpleasant emotions when someone beats me to the light or when someone gets through and I'm stuck on red.
14. I feel unpleasant emotions when someone beats me to the light or when someone gets through and I'm stuck on red.
Yes  No
Yes  No
15. I feel energized by the sense of power and competition I experience while driving aggressively.
15. I feel energized by the sense of power and competition I experience while driving aggressively.
Yes  No
Yes  No
16. I hate speed bumps and speed limits that are set too low.
16. I hate speed bumps and speed limits that are set too low.
Yes  No
Yes  No
17. Once in a while I get so frustrated in traffic that I begin to drive somewhat recklessly.
17. Once in a while I get so frustrated in traffic that I begin to drive somewhat recklessly.
Yes  No
Yes  No
18. I hate large trucks and I refuse to drive differently around them.
18. I hate large trucks and I refuse to drive differently around them.
Yes  No
Yes  No
19. Sometimes I feel that I'm holding up traffic so I start driving faster than I feel comfortable.
19. Sometimes I feel that I'm holding up traffic so I start driving faster than I feel comfortable.
Yes  No
Yes  No
20. I would feel embarrassed to "get stuck" behind a large vehicle on a steep road.
20. I would feel embarrassed to "get stuck" behind a large vehicle on a steep road.
Yes  No
Yes  No
Scoring your answers: Give yourself 1 road rage point for every Yes answer. How many do you have?
Scoring your answers: Give yourself 1 road rage point for every Yes answer. How many do you have?
Interpreting your score: Scores range from 0 to 20. Few drivers ever get 0 because road rage emotions are habitual and cultural. We all have some tendency toward it sometimes. The higher the score, the more likely it is that you will be the victim of road rage trouble. Typical scores range from 5 to 20 with an average of 12.
Interpreting your score: Scores range from 0 to 20. Few drivers ever get 0 because road rage emotions are habitual and cultural. We all have some tendency toward it sometimes. The higher the score, the more likely it is that you will be the victim of road rage trouble. Typical scores range from 5 to 20 with an average of 12.
If your score is less than 5 you're not an aggressive driver and your road rage tendency is manageable. Scores between 5 and 10 indicate that you have moderate road rage habits of driving. If your score is greater than 10 your road rage tendency is out of control, enough to compromise your ability to remain calm and fair in certain routine, but challenging driving situations.
If your score is less than 5 you're not an aggressive driver and your road rage tendency is manageable. Scores between 5 and 10 indicate that you have moderate road rage habits of driving. If your score is greater than 10 your road rage tendency is out of control, enough to compromise your ability to remain calm and fair in certain routine, but challenging driving situations.
By examining the pattern of your answers, you can gain valuable insight about your current level of emotional intelligence as a driver (see Chapter 5). Many drivers are able to reduce their score to under 5 after conscious practice with the techniques described in this book. This checklist helps you assess four critical elements that create habitual road rage:
By examining the pattern of your answers, you can gain valuable insight about your current level of emotional intelligence as a driver (see Chapter 5). Many drivers are able to reduce their score to under 5 after conscious practice with the techniques described in this book. This checklist helps you assess four critical elements that create habitual road rage:
• your anger theory (questions 1 to 7)
• your anger theory (questions 1 to 7)
• your driving philosophy (questions 8 to 11)
• your driving philosophy (questions 8 to 11)
• your habit of compulsive rushing or feeling competitive (questions 12 to 17)
• your habit of compulsive rushing or feeling competitive (questions 12 to 17)
• your over-sensitivity to social pressure by motorists (18 to 20)
• your over-sensitivity to social pressure by motorists (18 to 20)
A word of caution is in order. You cannot fully trust the reliability of the answers, especially when your score is low, because it only represents your opinion of your driving. You may have an excellent reputation of yourself as a driver, but it may not be objective or accurate. Our research shows that when 10 is perfect, most people choose 8, 9, or 10 when asked to rate their excellence as a driver. Clearly, most drivers are not that excellent or there wouldn't be 6 million collisions each year and billions of hostile incidents. The following chapters describe various convenient methods you can use to make objective observations about yourself as driver. Accuracy in self-assessment is essential for identifying and modifying unsafe components in your driving habits.  
A word of caution is in order. You cannot fully trust the reliability of the answers, especially when your score is low, because it only represents your opinion of your driving. You may have an excellent reputation of yourself as a driver, but it may not be objective or accurate. Our research shows that when 10 is perfect, most people choose 8, 9, or 10 when asked to rate their excellence as a driver. Clearly, most drivers are not that excellent or there wouldn't be 6 million collisions each year and billions of hostile incidents. The following chapters describe various convenient methods you can use to make objective observations about yourself as driver. Accuracy in self-assessment is essential for identifying and modifying unsafe components in your driving habits.  


'''Drivers Behaving Badly on TV'''
 
== '''Drivers Behaving Badly on TV''' ==


A crucial question many have asked in the past decade is, why has road rage exploded in the 1990s? Traffic congestion has existed since the 1950s and has worsened since the 1970s. The root of road rage is a "culture tantrum" because the way we express anger and when we do it is culturally condoned or sanctioned. What has occurred that has promoted the cultural norm of highway hostility? Psychiatrist John Larson attributes this new attitude to "the Road Warrior type movies of the 1980's" and today's television that teaches impressionable individuals that "Vigilante behavior, even that which harms others, is virtuous, associated with heroic figures, and easy to do."  These entertainments reveal that the readiness to use violence is a cultural habit.
A crucial question many have asked in the past decade is, why has road rage exploded in the 1990s? Traffic congestion has existed since the 1950s and has worsened since the 1970s. The root of road rage is a "culture tantrum" because the way we express anger and when we do it is culturally condoned or sanctioned. What has occurred that has promoted the cultural norm of highway hostility? Psychiatrist John Larson attributes this new attitude to "the Road Warrior type movies of the 1980's" and today's television that teaches impressionable individuals that "Vigilante behavior, even that which harms others, is virtuous, associated with heroic figures, and easy to do."  These entertainments reveal that the readiness to use violence is a cultural habit.
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== Emotional Self-Control Behind the Wheel ==
'''== Emotional Self-Control Behind the Wheel =='''
 


Research on how people manage to control their feelings shows that the ability to regulate our emotions is a learned skill with two main components. First, accurate "self-appraisal." This skill depends on how carefully we monitor our emotions and how we express them, verbally or by silence, gesture, and tone. Second, effective "self-regulation." This skill depends on acquiring methods to self-regulate the intensity and expression of our emotions.  
Research on how people manage to control their feelings shows that the ability to regulate our emotions is a learned skill with two main components. First, accurate "self-appraisal." This skill depends on how carefully we monitor our emotions and how we express them, verbally or by silence, gesture, and tone. Second, effective "self-regulation." This skill depends on acquiring methods to self-regulate the intensity and expression of our emotions.  
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Traffic congestion has become a universal problem plaguing most parts of the world, both rural and urban, because there are never enough miles of road for the number of vehicles in use. The annual costs associated with traffic congestion in the U.S. are astronomical and rising.2
Traffic congestion has become a universal problem plaguing most parts of the world, both rural and urban, because there are never enough miles of road for the number of vehicles in use. The annual costs associated with traffic congestion in the U.S. are astronomical and rising.2
· $100 billion loss in productivity
· $100 billion loss in productivity
· 2 billion hours spent in traffic
· 2 billion hours spent in traffic
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· increases number of collisions, injuries, and fatalities
· increases number of collisions, injuries, and fatalities
· discourages tourism and diminishes quality of life
· discourages tourism and diminishes quality of life
Because it inconveniences, delays, and frustrates drivers, congestion increases the number of crashes due to aggressive driving.  
Because it inconveniences, delays, and frustrates drivers, congestion increases the number of crashes due to aggressive driving.  
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One sure sign of a high road rage tendency is the strong desire to let the other person know how you feel. Everyone can list driving pet peeves on the road, the things other drivers do that get us going or push our hot buttons, and seem to act like triggers. But actually, we give ourselves permission to rage because someone has "broken an important rule."
One sure sign of a high road rage tendency is the strong desire to let the other person know how you feel. Everyone can list driving pet peeves on the road, the things other drivers do that get us going or push our hot buttons, and seem to act like triggers. But actually, we give ourselves permission to rage because someone has "broken an important rule."


'''Venting is Harmful to Your Health'''
 
== '''Venting is Harmful to Your Health''' ==
 


Giving in to anger is harmful in many ways. Scientists have discovered that routine anger makes people sick by weakening the cardiovascular and immune systems. Each anger episode, such as being annoyed by someone's driving, sets up a "fight or flight survival response " that makes the heart beat faster and the blood thicken. Each episode cumulates, and if you have dozens of angry or hostile reactions on one trip the effect on the coronary system can be damaging enough to shorten life.
Giving in to anger is harmful in many ways. Scientists have discovered that routine anger makes people sick by weakening the cardiovascular and immune systems. Each anger episode, such as being annoyed by someone's driving, sets up a "fight or flight survival response " that makes the heart beat faster and the blood thicken. Each episode cumulates, and if you have dozens of angry or hostile reactions on one trip the effect on the coronary system can be damaging enough to shorten life.


'''Passive-Aggressive Road Rage'''
== '''Passive-Aggressive Road Rage''' ==
 
Defined as a reactionary protest against feeling thwarted, coerced, mistreated, or repeatedly wronged, characterized by feelings of rancor and resentment against other drivers. It's a feeling of desperation that says, "You can't push me any farther!" Passive-aggressive road rage is a form of passive resistance that is expressed by ignoring others or by refusing to respond appropriately. The intent of passive-aggressive road rage is to be obstructionist and oppositional.
Defined as a reactionary protest against feeling thwarted, coerced, mistreated, or repeatedly wronged, characterized by feelings of rancor and resentment against other drivers. It's a feeling of desperation that says, "You can't push me any farther!" Passive-aggressive road rage is a form of passive resistance that is expressed by ignoring others or by refusing to respond appropriately. The intent of passive-aggressive road rage is to be obstructionist and oppositional.
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People commonly complain that drivers who prevent others from doing what they need to do are inconsiderate, especially those who insist on maintaining the speed limit in the fast lane. These motorists can infuriate others because they seem deliberately unaware of the explosive events taking shape around them. They fail to respond when prompted to move over, they keep people out, and they act oblivious to their environment. Passive-aggressive road rage is as dangerous as other types because you never know whether someone you are blocking is looking for a fight, wants to teach someone a lesson, or simply enjoys retaliating when obstructed.
People commonly complain that drivers who prevent others from doing what they need to do are inconsiderate, especially those who insist on maintaining the speed limit in the fast lane. These motorists can infuriate others because they seem deliberately unaware of the explosive events taking shape around them. They fail to respond when prompted to move over, they keep people out, and they act oblivious to their environment. Passive-aggressive road rage is as dangerous as other types because you never know whether someone you are blocking is looking for a fight, wants to teach someone a lesson, or simply enjoys retaliating when obstructed.


'''Verbal Road Rage'''
 
== '''Verbal Road Rage''' ==
 


Defined as the habit of constantly complaining about the traffic, keeping up a stream of mental or spoken attacks against drivers, passengers, law enforcement officials, road workers, pedestrians, speed limits, and road signs. This is undoubtedly the most common form of road rage. The purpose of these negative expressions is to denounce, ridicule, condemn, or castigate a traffic rule, a road engineer, or another driver -- morons, stupid idiots, louts, unbelievable fools, crazy jackasses, damn maniacs, criminals, creeps, selfish freaks, and dunderheads among many others.
Defined as the habit of constantly complaining about the traffic, keeping up a stream of mental or spoken attacks against drivers, passengers, law enforcement officials, road workers, pedestrians, speed limits, and road signs. This is undoubtedly the most common form of road rage. The purpose of these negative expressions is to denounce, ridicule, condemn, or castigate a traffic rule, a road engineer, or another driver -- morons, stupid idiots, louts, unbelievable fools, crazy jackasses, damn maniacs, criminals, creeps, selfish freaks, and dunderheads among many others.
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Rushing Maniac
Rushing Maniac


'''Rushing mania''' is one of the most common driving obsessions, yet its connection to road rage is often not noticed or understood. This dysfunctional driving style has two complementary elements. One is an extraordinary anxiety to avoid slowing down. The other is the consequent anger against anyone who causes a slow down. In this mental state people are perpetually anxious on the road, berating themselves for being slow, being late, being behind others. Drivers get into a habit of lane hopping, always trying to figure out which lane is faster. This mental attitude creates impulsive driving that is unpredictable and difficult for other drivers to read.
 
== '''Rushing mania''' ==
is one of the most common driving obsessions, yet its connection to road rage is often not noticed or understood. This dysfunctional driving style has two complementary elements. One is an extraordinary anxiety to avoid slowing down. The other is the consequent anger against anyone who causes a slow down. In this mental state people are perpetually anxious on the road, berating themselves for being slow, being late, being behind others. Drivers get into a habit of lane hopping, always trying to figure out which lane is faster. This mental attitude creates impulsive driving that is unpredictable and difficult for other drivers to read.
Aggressive Competitor
Aggressive Competitor


Some drivers are so competitive that they need to be in the lead at all times, and feel a sense of loss and rising anxiety if another car passes them. There are those who, when they make a mistake, are deeply embarrassed and worry about what other drivers might think. But when other drivers make a mistake, it's their turn to ridicule them. We do this automatically, by cultural habit and childhood upbringing. Compulsive competitiveness is an ego-centered orientation that shreds everyone's nerves and by provoking a simplistic game of winners and losers, it contributes significantly to driver rage.
Some drivers are so competitive that they need to be in the lead at all times, and feel a sense of loss and rising anxiety if another car passes them. There are those who, when they make a mistake, are deeply embarrassed and worry about what other drivers might think. But when other drivers make a mistake, it's their turn to ridicule them. We do this automatically, by cultural habit and childhood upbringing. Compulsive competitiveness is an ego-centered orientation that shreds everyone's nerves and by provoking a simplistic game of winners and losers, it contributes significantly to driver rage.


'''Left Lane Bandit'''
 
== '''Left Lane Bandit''' ==
 


Left lane bandits can be motivated by contrariness, stubbornness, and even the perverse enjoyment of dominating others by forcing them to line up behind. The most common complaint by motorists is about drivers who insist on driving slower than is considered normal for a given area. The nicest term applied to them is "inconsiderate drivers." People who drive deliberately slower than the traffic provoke others by claiming the right to obstruct the traffic flow. Driving in the left lane and not moving over is a serious form of passive-aggressive road rage.
Left lane bandits can be motivated by contrariness, stubbornness, and even the perverse enjoyment of dominating others by forcing them to line up behind. The most common complaint by motorists is about drivers who insist on driving slower than is considered normal for a given area. The nicest term applied to them is "inconsiderate drivers." People who drive deliberately slower than the traffic provoke others by claiming the right to obstruct the traffic flow. Driving in the left lane and not moving over is a serious form of passive-aggressive road rage.


'''Overcoming Emotional Hijacking'''
 
== '''Overcoming Emotional Hijacking''' ==
 


Daniel Goleman reviews neural and behavioral research showing that emotional explosions are literally "neural hijackings" because intense feelings are accompanied by detectable neural discharges in the brain, especially in a little organ known as the amygdala, which has been nicknamed 'the seat of passion.' The driver who blows up at someone is experiencing a "neural takeover" in the limbic brain, also known as 'the emotional brain' or 'reptilian brain.' Ordinarily, information from the emotional brain is filtered through the neo-cortex regions of the brain that is correlated with rational thinking or assessing the importance and significance of the emotional information. There is ordinarily a harmonizing balance between the emotional and the rational brain functions, between what the heart feels like and how the head disposes of it.
Daniel Goleman reviews neural and behavioral research showing that emotional explosions are literally "neural hijackings" because intense feelings are accompanied by detectable neural discharges in the brain, especially in a little organ known as the amygdala, which has been nicknamed 'the seat of passion.' The driver who blows up at someone is experiencing a "neural takeover" in the limbic brain, also known as 'the emotional brain' or 'reptilian brain.' Ordinarily, information from the emotional brain is filtered through the neo-cortex regions of the brain that is correlated with rational thinking or assessing the importance and significance of the emotional information. There is ordinarily a harmonizing balance between the emotional and the rational brain functions, between what the heart feels like and how the head disposes of it.
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Research reviewed by Goleman has uncovered six components of emotional intelligence that can be learned with appropriate practice:
Research reviewed by Goleman has uncovered six components of emotional intelligence that can be learned with appropriate practice:
· How to reappraise a situation and look for alternative explanations
· How to reappraise a situation and look for alternative explanations
· How to self-regulate negative mood shifts
· How to self-regulate negative mood shifts
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'''Checklist: Witnessing Your Aggressive Driving (Based on James and Nahl, 2000. Used with permission.)'''
 
Objective self-assessment is a skill that can be acquired with practice. The three behavior zones to observe are emotions, thoughts, and actions. This checklist of examples helps you focus on specific elements of your driving style, but in order to be objective you must observe yourself actually performing the actions, thinking the thoughts, and feeling the emotions. The purpose of the checklist is to alert you to the areas of the driving personality to be witnessed. The items represent common aggressive behaviors from the self-witnessing reports of many drivers. Since they are cultural norms, it's likely that we all have them to some extent.
== '''Checklist: Witnessing Your Aggressive Driving ==
(Based on James and Nahl, 2000. Used with permission.)'''
Objective self-assessment is a skill that can be acquired with practice. The three behavior zones to observe are emotions, thoughts, and actions. This checklist of examples helps you focus on specific elements of your driving style, but in order to be objective you must observe yourself actually performing the actions, thinking the thoughts, and feeling the emotions. The purpose of the checklist is to alert you to the areas of the driving personality to be witnessed. The items represent common aggressive behaviors from the self-witnessing reports of many drivers. Since they are cultural norms, it's likely that we all have them to some extent.
 
WITNESSING YOUR EMOTIONS:
'''WITNESSING YOUR EMOTIONS:'''
 


1.   ____ Getting angry when forced to brake by another motorist
1.   ____ Getting angry when forced to brake by another motorist
2.   ____ Feeling insulted and furious when a driver revs the engine in passing  
2.   ____ Feeling insulted and furious when a driver revs the engine in passing  
3.   ____ Feeling hostile when your progress is impeded by congestion
3.   ____ Feeling hostile when your progress is impeded by congestion
4.   ____ Being suspicious when a driver doesn't let you change lanes
4.   ____ Being suspicious when a driver doesn't let you change lanes
5.   ____ Feeling justified in retaliating when another driver insults you
5.   ____ Feeling justified in retaliating when another driver insults you
6.   ____ Enjoying thoughts of revenge and torture
6.   ____ Enjoying thoughts of revenge and torture
7.   ____ Enjoying the role of being mean behind the wheel
7.   ____ Enjoying the role of being mean behind the wheel
8.   ____ Feeling satisfaction when expressing hostility against other drivers
8.   ____ Feeling satisfaction when expressing hostility against other drivers
9. ____ Fantasizing racing other road warriors
9. ____ Fantasizing racing other road warriors
10. ____ Enjoying stereotyping and ridiculing certain drivers
10. ____ Enjoying stereotyping and ridiculing certain drivers
11. ____ Constantly feeling like rushing, even when you're not late  
11. ____ Constantly feeling like rushing, even when you're not late  
12. ____ Striving to get ahead of every car
12. ____ Striving to get ahead of every car
13. ____ Being pleased when getting away with breaking traffic laws
13. ____ Being pleased when getting away with breaking traffic laws
14. ____ Enjoying the feeling of risk or danger when moving fast
14. ____ Enjoying the feeling of risk or danger when moving fast
15. ____ Other: _____________________________________________
15. ____ Other: _____________________________________________
16. ____ Other: _____________________________________________
16. ____ Other: _____________________________________________


WITNESSING YOUR THOUGHTS:
 
'''WITNESSING YOUR THOUGHTS:'''


1. ____ Justifying that it's all right to reject the law that every lane change must be signaled
1. ____ Justifying that it's all right to reject the law that every lane change must be signaled
2. ____ Thinking that it's up to you to choose which stop signs should be obeyed
2. ____ Thinking that it's up to you to choose which stop signs should be obeyed
3. ____ Thinking that there is no need for speed limits  
3. ____ Thinking that there is no need for speed limits  
4. ____ Being ignorant of safety rules and principles (e.g., who has the right of way)
4. ____ Being ignorant of safety rules and principles (e.g., who has the right of way)
5. ____ Thinking that it's not necessary to figure out the route before leaving, when it is
5. ____ Thinking that it's not necessary to figure out the route before leaving, when it is
6. ____ Not leaving early enough, thinking you can make up time by driving faster
6. ____ Not leaving early enough, thinking you can make up time by driving faster
7. ____ Thinking that some drivers are fools, air heads, rejects, etc.
7. ____ Thinking that some drivers are fools, air heads, rejects, etc.
8. ____ Thinking that other drivers are out to get you
8. ____ Thinking that other drivers are out to get you
9. ____ Believing that passengers have fewer rights than drivers
9. ____ Believing that passengers have fewer rights than drivers
10. ____ Thinking you can handle drinking and driving due to your special ability to hold your liquor
10. ____ Thinking you can handle drinking and driving due to your special ability to hold your liquor
11. ____ Thinking that you can use in-car communication systems safely without having to train yourself
11. ____ Thinking that you can use in-car communication systems safely without having to train yourself
12. ____ Believing that pedestrians shouldn't have the right of way when jaywalking
12. ____ Believing that pedestrians shouldn't have the right of way when jaywalking
13. ____ Believing it's o.k. not to wear seat belts since you probably won't need it
13. ____ Believing it's o.k. not to wear seat belts since you probably won't need it
14. ____ Thinking it's best to get ahead of others even if you cause them to slow down  
 
14. ____ Thinking it's best to get ahead of others even if you cause them to slow  
 
down  
 
15. ____ Other: _____________________________________________
15. ____ Other: _____________________________________________
16. ____ Other: _____________________________________________
16. ____ Other: _____________________________________________


WITNESSING YOUR ACTIONS:
'''WITNESSING YOUR ACTIONS:'''


1. ____ Not signaling when required by law
1. ____ Not signaling when required by law
2. ____ Lane hopping to get ahead rather than going with the flow
2. ____ Lane hopping to get ahead rather than going with the flow
3. ____ Following too close for the speed
3. ____ Following too close for the speed
4. ____ Gap-closing to prevent someone from entering your lane
4. ____ Gap-closing to prevent someone from entering your lane
5. ____ Turning right from the middle or left lane
5. ____ Turning right from the middle or left lane
6. ____ Blocking the passing lane, not moving over as soon as possible
6. ____ Blocking the passing lane, not moving over as soon as possible
7. ____ Speeding faster than the flow of traffic
7. ____ Speeding faster than the flow of traffic
8. ____ Shining high beams to annoy a driver
8. ____ Shining high beams to annoy a driver
9. ____ Honking to protest something, when it's not an emergency
9. ____ Honking to protest something, when it's not an emergency
10. ____ Gesturing insultingly at another driver
10. ____ Gesturing insultingly at another driver
11. ____ Speeding up suddenly to make it through a yellow light
11. ____ Speeding up suddenly to make it through a yellow light
12. ____ Making rolling stops when a full stop is required
12. ____ Making rolling stops when a full stop is required
13. ____ Threatening pedestrians by approaching them fast
13. ____ Threatening pedestrians by approaching them fast
14. ____ Illegally parking in a marked handicap stall  
14. ____ Illegally parking in a marked handicap stall  
15. ____ Parking or double parking where it's illegal
15. ____ Parking or double parking where it's illegal
16. ____ Playing the radio loud enough to be heard by other drivers
16. ____ Playing the radio loud enough to be heard by other drivers
17. ____ Taking a parking space unfairly or opportunistically
17. ____ Taking a parking space unfairly or opportunistically
18. ____ Driving under the influence of alcohol or medication
18. ____ Driving under the influence of alcohol or medication
19. ____ Bad mouthing other drivers when kids are in the vehicle
19. ____ Bad mouthing other drivers when kids are in the vehicle
20. ____ Ignoring the comfort of passengers or verbally assaulting them when they complain about your driving
20. ____ Ignoring the comfort of passengers or verbally assaulting them when they complain about your driving
21. ____ Failure to yield
21. ____ Failure to yield
22. ____ Other: _____________________________________________
22. ____ Other: _____________________________________________
23. ____ Other: _____________________________________________
23. ____ Other: _____________________________________________




== Road Rage Nursery ==


'''== Road Rage Nursery =='''


Road rage is a feeling of hostility that is inherited through the culture of disrespect condoned on highways. Motorists don't try to hide it because they are often proud of their aggressiveness, so it's common for children to hear parents and other adults swearing and demeaning other drivers. Adult drivers must teach their kids emotional intelligence from the child's earliest age as a passenger. Children experience their first "driving lessons" as infants and toddlers in their parent's and caretaker's autos.  
Road rage is a feeling of hostility that is inherited through the culture of disrespect condoned on highways. Motorists don't try to hide it because they are often proud of their aggressiveness, so it's common for children to hear parents and other adults swearing and demeaning other drivers. Adult drivers must teach their kids emotional intelligence from the child's earliest age as a passenger. Children experience their first "driving lessons" as infants and toddlers in their parent's and caretaker's autos.  
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1. First and foremost make every attempt to get out of their way.
1. First and foremost make every attempt to get out of their way.
2. Put your pride in the back seat. Do not challenge them by speeding up or attempting to hold-your-own in your travel lane.
2. Put your pride in the back seat. Do not challenge them by speeding up or attempting to hold-your-own in your travel lane.
3. Wear your seat belt. It will it hold you in your seat and behind the wheel in case you need to make an abrupt driving maneuver and it will protect you in a crash.
3. Wear your seat belt. It will it hold you in your seat and behind the wheel in case you need to make an abrupt driving maneuver and it will protect you in a crash.
4. Avoid eye contact.
4. Avoid eye contact.
5. Ignore gestures and refuse to return them.
5. Ignore gestures and refuse to return them.
6. Report aggressive drivers to the appropriate authorities by providing a vehicle description, license number, location, and if possible, direction of travel.
6. Report aggressive drivers to the appropriate authorities by providing a vehicle description, license number, location, and if possible, direction of travel.
7. If you have a "cell" phone, and can do it safely, call the police.
7. If you have a "cell" phone, and can do it safely, call the police.
8. If an aggressive driver is involved in a crash farther down the road, stop a safe distance from the crash scene, wait for the police to arrive and report the driving behavior that you witnessed.  
8. If an aggressive driver is involved in a crash farther down the road, stop a safe distance from the crash scene, wait for the police to arrive and report the driving behavior that you witnessed.  
This advice is intended to help people avoid the confrontations with aggressive drivers and to support law enforcement’s efforts to reduce road rage incidents.
This advice is intended to help people avoid the confrontations with aggressive drivers and to support law enforcement’s efforts to reduce road rage incidents.
Aggressive Driving Bills
 
== '''Aggressive Driving Bills''' ==
 
According to a 1998 report by the National Conference of State Legislatures several aggressive driving bills have been approved and several more are being introduced. Law enforcement officers must be able to identify the aggressive driver's specific behavior. For instance, New Jersey police use the language of traffic violations to help officers observe specific driver behavior:
According to a 1998 report by the National Conference of State Legislatures several aggressive driving bills have been approved and several more are being introduced. Law enforcement officers must be able to identify the aggressive driver's specific behavior. For instance, New Jersey police use the language of traffic violations to help officers observe specific driver behavior:
· Speeding  
· Speeding  
· Following Too Close  
· Following Too Close  
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== Citizen Activism Against Government Paternalism ==
'''== Citizen Activism Against Government Paternalism =='''
In the 1990s, as government stepped up its fight against aggressive driving, two ideological groups of drivers emerged, taking opposing sides on government intervention in controlling motorists. The ideological "right" consists of "assertive" drivers who take driving seriously, consider themselves skilled, complain bitterly about law enforcement practices, and uphold an aggressive attitude towards many drivers whom they consider incompetent, inconsiderate, and responsible for most accidents. The ideological "left" promote more government intervention and legislation restricting the behavior of motorists, such as aggressive driving initiatives by police, electronic traffic control devices, neighborhood traffic calming strategies, total speed enforcement, maintenance of a national database of aggressive drivers, and a national hotline for reporting license numbers of cars observed driving aggressively. Interestingly, both sides support better driver training, but neither side sees training as the central issue.
In the 1990s, as government stepped up its fight against aggressive driving, two ideological groups of drivers emerged, taking opposing sides on government intervention in controlling motorists. The ideological "right" consists of "assertive" drivers who take driving seriously, consider themselves skilled, complain bitterly about law enforcement practices, and uphold an aggressive attitude towards many drivers whom they consider incompetent, inconsiderate, and responsible for most accidents. The ideological "left" promote more government intervention and legislation restricting the behavior of motorists, such as aggressive driving initiatives by police, electronic traffic control devices, neighborhood traffic calming strategies, total speed enforcement, maintenance of a national database of aggressive drivers, and a national hotline for reporting license numbers of cars observed driving aggressively. Interestingly, both sides support better driver training, but neither side sees training as the central issue.
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An increasing polarization is taking place between those who pressure government officials to initiate more aggressive approaches against aggressive drivers, and those who oppose further government intervention as intrusive and unnecessary. Each side is well-prepared with its own ideology, logic, and statistics to back up its arguments. A variety of individual and collective efforts are active across the country, such as the group Citizens For Roadside Safety.
An increasing polarization is taking place between those who pressure government officials to initiate more aggressive approaches against aggressive drivers, and those who oppose further government intervention as intrusive and unnecessary. Each side is well-prepared with its own ideology, logic, and statistics to back up its arguments. A variety of individual and collective efforts are active across the country, such as the group Citizens For Roadside Safety.
== References and Bibliography ==
'''== References and Bibliography =='''


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Williams, R. and Williams, V. (1993).  Anger Kills. New York: Harper Perennial, 1993.
Williams, R. and Williams, V. (1993).  Anger Kills. New York: Harper Perennial, 1993.


== Useful Road Rage Links to Web Sites ==
'''== Useful Road Rage Links to Web Sites =='''
 


Drivers.com Road Rage Featured Articles: http://drivers.com/topic/31/  
Drivers.com Road Rage Featured Articles: http://drivers.com/topic/31/  

Revision as of 22:48, 27 January 2007

Direct and Indirect Cost of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving

1. fatalities (425,000 per decade) 2. injuries (35 million per decade) 3. dollars (250 billion per year) 4. long-term ill health 5. increased daily stress (hassles and concerns) 6. fear and threat on streets and highways 7. lowering emotional intelligence 8. promoting learned negativity in public places leading to automotive vigilantism and widely deployed electronic surveillance systems 9. reduced productivity when arriving at work mad and exhausted 10. learned cynicism (aggressive driving norms and disrespect for regulations) leading to alienation among highway citizens 11. greater air pollution due to emotional use of the gas pedal (getting less gas per mileage) 12. breeding the next generation of aggressive drivers

We're confronted with some basic questions for which there are few scientific answers: · Is aggressive driving increasing? · Are there differences in aggressive driving across the cities and states—is it a universal epidemic? · What causes the increase in aggressive driving and how can it be controlled? · New forms of record keeping are needed to track the incidence of aggressive driving in society because there are no before-after statistics available to answer these questions. New legislation addresses this problem by specifying offenses in terms of particular behavior.

Experts in the medical field have responded to road rage by viewing it as a psychological disorder to be solved through anger and stress management therapy. A more promising approach is behavioral and cultural in nature. Data on drivers speaking their thoughts out loud into a tape recorder while driving, indicates that feeling hostile and violent behind the wheel is a cultural norm, rather than a psychological disorder (see Reference 5). People imbibe their parents’ style of talking and behaving for several years before they become drivers, and then they act out learned aggressiveness and hostility. In the meantime, they also receive daily reinforcement from television as they watch hundreds of episodes of drivers behaving badly, suffering no consequences, having fun, and getting away with lawlessness.


Road Rage: Real or Media Hype?

In 1996 the American media began to write stories about violent highway incidents using warlike language that highlights a spirit of battle on the roads: · It’s high noon on the country’s streets and highways. This is road recklessness, auto anarchy, an epidemic of wanton carmanship. (Time) · Road Warriors: Aggressive Drivers Turn Freeways Into Free-For-Alls “Armed with everything from firearms to Perrier bottles to pepper spray and eggs....America’s drivers are taking frustrations out on each other in startling numbers.” (Chicago Tribune)

Stories listed in Yahoo! in 1999:

· A driver intentionally rammed his vehicle into a car with three kids and their parents in it, after the children gave him an “obscene finger gesture.” · A man was stabbed repeatedly by another motorist when a traffic disagreement escalated from obscene gestures to violence. · A 49-year-old father of five, shot to death by another motorist who has been charged with capital homicide. · A woman got a 15-year sentence for gunning the engine and hitting another woman in a fender-bender dispute. · A man was shot at after he had honked at another car who passed him. · A 17-year-old boy was tailgating a motorist. They both pulled over, a dispute ensued, and the boy was shot. · An elderly driver peeved that another driver honked at him hurled his prescription bottle at the honker, then smashed his knees with his car when the man got out. · An enraged bicyclist, after being knocked off his bike by a car, pulled out a handgun and shot the driver to death.

Few drivers can claim to be free of hostile encounters while driving. Mostly, the incidents don't break out into the open or are ignored. People get used to them and consider them normal. But everyone runs a risk each time because it's not possible to predict which little incident will turn violent. The cumulative effect of our daily encounters with pervasive hostility toughens our hide, and promotes a culture of competition, intolerance, and mutual disrespect on highways.


Checklist: Your Road Range Tendency

(based on James and Nahl, 2000 see References.  Reproduced with permission.)

INSTRUCTIONS: For each question, circle Yes if the statement applies to you reasonably well, or No if it doesn't.

1. I swear a lot more in traffic than I do elsewhere. Yes No

2. I normally have critical thoughts about other drivers. Yes No

3. When a driver in a parking lot tries to steal the space I've been waiting for, I get furious. Yes No

4. I fantasize about doing violence to other drivers (e.g., using guns or blowing them up or sweeping them aside). But it's just fantasy. Yes No

5. When drivers do something really "stupid" that endangers me or my car, I get furious, even aggressive. Yes No

6. It's good to get your anger out because we all have aggressive feelings inside that naturally come out under stressful situations. Yes No

7. When I'm very upset about something, it's a relief to step on the gas to give my feelings an outlet. Yes No

8. I feel that it's important to force certain drivers to behave appropriately on the highway. Yes No

9. Pedestrians shouldn't have the right to walk slowly in crosswalks when cars are waiting. Yes No

10. Pushy drivers really annoy me so I bad-mouth them to feel better. Yes No

11. I tailgate when someone drives too slow for conditions or in the passing lane. Yes No

12. I try to get to my destination in the shortest time possible, or else it doesn't feel right. Yes No

13. If I stopped driving aggressively others would take advantage of my passivity. Yes No

14. I feel unpleasant emotions when someone beats me to the light or when someone gets through and I'm stuck on red. Yes No

15. I feel energized by the sense of power and competition I experience while driving aggressively. Yes No

16. I hate speed bumps and speed limits that are set too low. Yes No

17. Once in a while I get so frustrated in traffic that I begin to drive somewhat recklessly. Yes No

18. I hate large trucks and I refuse to drive differently around them. Yes No

19. Sometimes I feel that I'm holding up traffic so I start driving faster than I feel comfortable. Yes No

20. I would feel embarrassed to "get stuck" behind a large vehicle on a steep road. Yes No

Scoring your answers: Give yourself 1 road rage point for every Yes answer. How many do you have?

Interpreting your score: Scores range from 0 to 20. Few drivers ever get 0 because road rage emotions are habitual and cultural. We all have some tendency toward it sometimes. The higher the score, the more likely it is that you will be the victim of road rage trouble. Typical scores range from 5 to 20 with an average of 12.

If your score is less than 5 you're not an aggressive driver and your road rage tendency is manageable. Scores between 5 and 10 indicate that you have moderate road rage habits of driving. If your score is greater than 10 your road rage tendency is out of control, enough to compromise your ability to remain calm and fair in certain routine, but challenging driving situations.

By examining the pattern of your answers, you can gain valuable insight about your current level of emotional intelligence as a driver (see Chapter 5). Many drivers are able to reduce their score to under 5 after conscious practice with the techniques described in this book. This checklist helps you assess four critical elements that create habitual road rage:

• your anger theory (questions 1 to 7) • your driving philosophy (questions 8 to 11) • your habit of compulsive rushing or feeling competitive (questions 12 to 17) • your over-sensitivity to social pressure by motorists (18 to 20)

A word of caution is in order. You cannot fully trust the reliability of the answers, especially when your score is low, because it only represents your opinion of your driving. You may have an excellent reputation of yourself as a driver, but it may not be objective or accurate. Our research shows that when 10 is perfect, most people choose 8, 9, or 10 when asked to rate their excellence as a driver. Clearly, most drivers are not that excellent or there wouldn't be 6 million collisions each year and billions of hostile incidents. The following chapters describe various convenient methods you can use to make objective observations about yourself as driver. Accuracy in self-assessment is essential for identifying and modifying unsafe components in your driving habits.


Drivers Behaving Badly on TV

A crucial question many have asked in the past decade is, why has road rage exploded in the 1990s? Traffic congestion has existed since the 1950s and has worsened since the 1970s. The root of road rage is a "culture tantrum" because the way we express anger and when we do it is culturally condoned or sanctioned. What has occurred that has promoted the cultural norm of highway hostility? Psychiatrist John Larson attributes this new attitude to "the Road Warrior type movies of the 1980's" and today's television that teaches impressionable individuals that "Vigilante behavior, even that which harms others, is virtuous, associated with heroic figures, and easy to do." These entertainments reveal that the readiness to use violence is a cultural habit. Why Driving Arouses Anger

Driving in traffic routinely involves events and incidents. Events are normal sequential maneuvers such as stopping for lights, changing lanes, or braking. Incidents are frequent but abnormal events. Some of these are dangerous and frightening, such as near-misses or violent exchanges, while others are merely annoying or depressing, such as being insulted by a driver or forgetting to make a turn. Driving events and incidents are sources of psychological forces capable of producing powerful feelings and irrational thought sequences.

Driving is a dramatic activity performed by tens of millions on a daily basis. The drama stems from high risk, interactivity, and unpredictability. Driving has conflicting structural components in predictability and unpredictability. Predictability creates safety, security, and escape from disaster. Unpredictability creates danger, stress, and crashes.


== Emotional Self-Control Behind the Wheel ==

Research on how people manage to control their feelings shows that the ability to regulate our emotions is a learned skill with two main components. First, accurate "self-appraisal." This skill depends on how carefully we monitor our emotions and how we express them, verbally or by silence, gesture, and tone. Second, effective "self-regulation." This skill depends on acquiring methods to self-regulate the intensity and expression of our emotions.

Self-appraisal and self-regulation are skills that can be learned by anyone who is dedicated to practice. Exercising discretion and control over our emotional lives is a necessary coping skill that determines success and health. Motorists are constantly exposed to risky situations that generate intense emotional involvement. The driver's prime directive is to maintain control of the vehicle and the situation, so it's smart to train yourself to exert self-control over the emotions behind the wheel because emotions impact the situation. Stressful Congestion

Traffic congestion has become a universal problem plaguing most parts of the world, both rural and urban, because there are never enough miles of road for the number of vehicles in use. The annual costs associated with traffic congestion in the U.S. are astronomical and rising.2

· $100 billion loss in productivity · 2 billion hours spent in traffic · 1 billion gallons of extra gasoline · 2 billion incidents of aggressive driving · increases air pollution · increases number of collisions, injuries, and fatalities · discourages tourism and diminishes quality of life

Because it inconveniences, delays, and frustrates drivers, congestion increases the number of crashes due to aggressive driving.

People experience time pressure when they can't predict trip time accurately, they feel caged or trapped with no way out, and some become enraged and drive on the shoulder to pass unwitting motorists waiting it out. The emotional dynamics of congestion are mostly private, until someone takes chances and tries to make a break for it, accelerates too fast to avoid collision at a merge point, or tries to get the advantage by cutting in line. Trigger Theory of Road Rage

Even the best and most experienced drivers have problems managing negative emotions. Many drivers believe that expressing anger is a basic right. Pop psychology has promoted venting anger as healthier than “holding it in”, and retaliation is accepted as a necessary punitive method for keeping control on the highway. But playing war-games undermines self-control, and many drivers are incapable of holding back outbursts of rage once they make the critical choice of going along with their wild emotions. People justify aggression by fabricating an illogical sequence: "They provoked me. I can't help it. They deserve it." There's a feeling of being 'right' in the show of aggression. "They're breaking a basic rule and they shouldn't. Therefore, I can't let them get away with it by doing nothing." This serves as the excuse for instant retribution and dangerous, risky behavior. But is this logical, effective or fair?

There is no direct connection between "They provoked me" and "They deserve punishment," but people make an indirect connection when they describe the situation this way: "They broke an important rule which makes me feel bad. Therefore I want to punish them, which will make me feel better. Besides, it's dangerous to let them get away with it. So I must help society and myself by teaching them a lesson they won't forget."

It's tempting to use driving incidents as an opportunity to take charge and play the disciplinarian for the public good. Raging aggressively is a way of striving for control, attempting to coerce, imposing our will on another. Habitual aggressive driving is a strategy for gaining supremacy over others. Suddenly, we see an opportunity to become a member of a highway posse, out to enforce vigilante law and order. It feels good to take control as the keeper of the rules of the road.

One sure sign of a high road rage tendency is the strong desire to let the other person know how you feel. Everyone can list driving pet peeves on the road, the things other drivers do that get us going or push our hot buttons, and seem to act like triggers. But actually, we give ourselves permission to rage because someone has "broken an important rule."


Venting is Harmful to Your Health

Giving in to anger is harmful in many ways. Scientists have discovered that routine anger makes people sick by weakening the cardiovascular and immune systems. Each anger episode, such as being annoyed by someone's driving, sets up a "fight or flight survival response " that makes the heart beat faster and the blood thicken. Each episode cumulates, and if you have dozens of angry or hostile reactions on one trip the effect on the coronary system can be damaging enough to shorten life.


Passive-Aggressive Road Rage

Defined as a reactionary protest against feeling thwarted, coerced, mistreated, or repeatedly wronged, characterized by feelings of rancor and resentment against other drivers. It's a feeling of desperation that says, "You can't push me any farther!" Passive-aggressive road rage is a form of passive resistance that is expressed by ignoring others or by refusing to respond appropriately. The intent of passive-aggressive road rage is to be obstructionist and oppositional.

People commonly complain that drivers who prevent others from doing what they need to do are inconsiderate, especially those who insist on maintaining the speed limit in the fast lane. These motorists can infuriate others because they seem deliberately unaware of the explosive events taking shape around them. They fail to respond when prompted to move over, they keep people out, and they act oblivious to their environment. Passive-aggressive road rage is as dangerous as other types because you never know whether someone you are blocking is looking for a fight, wants to teach someone a lesson, or simply enjoys retaliating when obstructed.


Verbal Road Rage

Defined as the habit of constantly complaining about the traffic, keeping up a stream of mental or spoken attacks against drivers, passengers, law enforcement officials, road workers, pedestrians, speed limits, and road signs. This is undoubtedly the most common form of road rage. The purpose of these negative expressions is to denounce, ridicule, condemn, or castigate a traffic rule, a road engineer, or another driver -- morons, stupid idiots, louts, unbelievable fools, crazy jackasses, damn maniacs, criminals, creeps, selfish freaks, and dunderheads among many others. Epic Road Rage

Defined as the habit of fantasizing comic book roles and extreme punitive measures against another driver, such as chasing, beating up, ramming, dragging, shooting, and killing, sometimes to the point of acting on it. Rushing Maniac


Rushing mania

is one of the most common driving obsessions, yet its connection to road rage is often not noticed or understood. This dysfunctional driving style has two complementary elements. One is an extraordinary anxiety to avoid slowing down. The other is the consequent anger against anyone who causes a slow down. In this mental state people are perpetually anxious on the road, berating themselves for being slow, being late, being behind others. Drivers get into a habit of lane hopping, always trying to figure out which lane is faster. This mental attitude creates impulsive driving that is unpredictable and difficult for other drivers to read.

Aggressive Competitor

Some drivers are so competitive that they need to be in the lead at all times, and feel a sense of loss and rising anxiety if another car passes them. There are those who, when they make a mistake, are deeply embarrassed and worry about what other drivers might think. But when other drivers make a mistake, it's their turn to ridicule them. We do this automatically, by cultural habit and childhood upbringing. Compulsive competitiveness is an ego-centered orientation that shreds everyone's nerves and by provoking a simplistic game of winners and losers, it contributes significantly to driver rage.


Left Lane Bandit

Left lane bandits can be motivated by contrariness, stubbornness, and even the perverse enjoyment of dominating others by forcing them to line up behind. The most common complaint by motorists is about drivers who insist on driving slower than is considered normal for a given area. The nicest term applied to them is "inconsiderate drivers." People who drive deliberately slower than the traffic provoke others by claiming the right to obstruct the traffic flow. Driving in the left lane and not moving over is a serious form of passive-aggressive road rage.


Overcoming Emotional Hijacking

Daniel Goleman reviews neural and behavioral research showing that emotional explosions are literally "neural hijackings" because intense feelings are accompanied by detectable neural discharges in the brain, especially in a little organ known as the amygdala, which has been nicknamed 'the seat of passion.' The driver who blows up at someone is experiencing a "neural takeover" in the limbic brain, also known as 'the emotional brain' or 'reptilian brain.' Ordinarily, information from the emotional brain is filtered through the neo-cortex regions of the brain that is correlated with rational thinking or assessing the importance and significance of the emotional information. There is ordinarily a harmonizing balance between the emotional and the rational brain functions, between what the heart feels like and how the head disposes of it.

However, neuroscientists have shown that this balance breaks down when the intensity and quality of the emotion overloads the neural circuitry and interrupts normal thinking. When drivers vent their anger, feeling self-righteous indignation for being wronged, the power of the emotion alters normal thinking and judgment. They now give different interpretations to signs and events, influencing what they can perceive and notice. Rational thinking, which is objective, balanced, and accurate, changes into emotional thinking, which is subjective, biased, and inaccurate. Thus the thinking corresponds to the feeling.

Research reviewed by Goleman has uncovered six components of emotional intelligence that can be learned with appropriate practice:

· How to reappraise a situation and look for alternative explanations · How to self-regulate negative mood shifts · How to empathize with "the other side" · How to persist in a plan despite distracting frustrations · How to control or neutralize one's aggressive impulses · How to think with positive outcomes


Checklist: Witnessing Your Aggressive Driving

(Based on James and Nahl, 2000. Used with permission.)

Objective self-assessment is a skill that can be acquired with practice. The three behavior zones to observe are emotions, thoughts, and actions. This checklist of examples helps you focus on specific elements of your driving style, but in order to be objective you must observe yourself actually performing the actions, thinking the thoughts, and feeling the emotions. The purpose of the checklist is to alert you to the areas of the driving personality to be witnessed. The items represent common aggressive behaviors from the self-witnessing reports of many drivers. Since they are cultural norms, it's likely that we all have them to some extent.


WITNESSING YOUR EMOTIONS:


1. ____ Getting angry when forced to brake by another motorist

2. ____ Feeling insulted and furious when a driver revs the engine in passing

3. ____ Feeling hostile when your progress is impeded by congestion

4. ____ Being suspicious when a driver doesn't let you change lanes

5. ____ Feeling justified in retaliating when another driver insults you

6. ____ Enjoying thoughts of revenge and torture

7. ____ Enjoying the role of being mean behind the wheel

8. ____ Feeling satisfaction when expressing hostility against other drivers

9. ____ Fantasizing racing other road warriors

10. ____ Enjoying stereotyping and ridiculing certain drivers

11. ____ Constantly feeling like rushing, even when you're not late

12. ____ Striving to get ahead of every car

13. ____ Being pleased when getting away with breaking traffic laws

14. ____ Enjoying the feeling of risk or danger when moving fast

15. ____ Other: _____________________________________________

16. ____ Other: _____________________________________________


WITNESSING YOUR THOUGHTS:

1. ____ Justifying that it's all right to reject the law that every lane change must be signaled

2. ____ Thinking that it's up to you to choose which stop signs should be obeyed

3. ____ Thinking that there is no need for speed limits

4. ____ Being ignorant of safety rules and principles (e.g., who has the right of way)

5. ____ Thinking that it's not necessary to figure out the route before leaving, when it is

6. ____ Not leaving early enough, thinking you can make up time by driving faster

7. ____ Thinking that some drivers are fools, air heads, rejects, etc.

8. ____ Thinking that other drivers are out to get you

9. ____ Believing that passengers have fewer rights than drivers

10. ____ Thinking you can handle drinking and driving due to your special ability to hold your liquor

11. ____ Thinking that you can use in-car communication systems safely without having to train yourself

12. ____ Believing that pedestrians shouldn't have the right of way when jaywalking

13. ____ Believing it's o.k. not to wear seat belts since you probably won't need it

14. ____ Thinking it's best to get ahead of others even if you cause them to slow

down

15. ____ Other: _____________________________________________

16. ____ Other: _____________________________________________

WITNESSING YOUR ACTIONS:

1. ____ Not signaling when required by law

2. ____ Lane hopping to get ahead rather than going with the flow

3. ____ Following too close for the speed

4. ____ Gap-closing to prevent someone from entering your lane

5. ____ Turning right from the middle or left lane

6. ____ Blocking the passing lane, not moving over as soon as possible

7. ____ Speeding faster than the flow of traffic

8. ____ Shining high beams to annoy a driver

9. ____ Honking to protest something, when it's not an emergency

10. ____ Gesturing insultingly at another driver

11. ____ Speeding up suddenly to make it through a yellow light

12. ____ Making rolling stops when a full stop is required

13. ____ Threatening pedestrians by approaching them fast

14. ____ Illegally parking in a marked handicap stall

15. ____ Parking or double parking where it's illegal

16. ____ Playing the radio loud enough to be heard by other drivers

17. ____ Taking a parking space unfairly or opportunistically

18. ____ Driving under the influence of alcohol or medication

19. ____ Bad mouthing other drivers when kids are in the vehicle

20. ____ Ignoring the comfort of passengers or verbally assaulting them when they complain about your driving

21. ____ Failure to yield

22. ____ Other: _____________________________________________

23. ____ Other: _____________________________________________


== Road Rage Nursery ==

Road rage is a feeling of hostility that is inherited through the culture of disrespect condoned on highways. Motorists don't try to hide it because they are often proud of their aggressiveness, so it's common for children to hear parents and other adults swearing and demeaning other drivers. Adult drivers must teach their kids emotional intelligence from the child's earliest age as a passenger. Children experience their first "driving lessons" as infants and toddlers in their parent's and caretaker's autos.

Children learn how to feel, think, and act as passengers and as drivers from the adult drivers. It's good sense to make these early driving lessons deliberately educational. Parents can help them to learn how to behave in the car by setting a good example for them. If a parent is a raging driver, the children will value that. If parents let the children behave unsafely in the car, they will value that. If a parent wears a seatbelt, the children will value that too. If parents respect other drivers, their children will value others. And if parents have verbal road rage, their children will have it too. The back seat of the car is road rage nursery.

NHTSA issued an aggressive driver advisory telling motorists what to do if confronted.7 These helpful hints have become standard on the Web, in newspaper stories, insurance companies pamphlets, health organization magazines, automobile club newsletters, and public service announcements on radio and television:

1. First and foremost make every attempt to get out of their way.

2. Put your pride in the back seat. Do not challenge them by speeding up or attempting to hold-your-own in your travel lane.

3. Wear your seat belt. It will it hold you in your seat and behind the wheel in case you need to make an abrupt driving maneuver and it will protect you in a crash.

4. Avoid eye contact.

5. Ignore gestures and refuse to return them.

6. Report aggressive drivers to the appropriate authorities by providing a vehicle description, license number, location, and if possible, direction of travel.

7. If you have a "cell" phone, and can do it safely, call the police.

8. If an aggressive driver is involved in a crash farther down the road, stop a safe distance from the crash scene, wait for the police to arrive and report the driving behavior that you witnessed.

This advice is intended to help people avoid the confrontations with aggressive drivers and to support law enforcement’s efforts to reduce road rage incidents.


Aggressive Driving Bills

According to a 1998 report by the National Conference of State Legislatures several aggressive driving bills have been approved and several more are being introduced. Law enforcement officers must be able to identify the aggressive driver's specific behavior. For instance, New Jersey police use the language of traffic violations to help officers observe specific driver behavior:

· Speeding · Following Too Close · Unsafe Lane Change · Driving While Intoxicated · Reckless, Careless or Inattentive Driving · Disregard Of Traffic Signs and Signals · Improper Passing · Driving While Suspended

Some tricky psychological issues may be involved in making distinctions between aggressive driving infractions and non-aggressive violations. The federal government recognizes that "just because drivers are stopped for speeding does not mean they were driving aggressively." The guidelines call for citations to be marked to identify true aggressive driving violations. Officers may have difficulty reliably profiling the aggressiveness of a driver who has committed a visible infraction. For instance, when a driver is stopped for speeding, what criteria are involved in making a decision about the driver’s "intentions" that permit the officer to check off "Merely speeding" or "Reckless speeding"? Or, in other infractions: "Merely switching lanes without signaling" vs. "Recklessly switching lanes"?


== Citizen Activism Against Government Paternalism ==

In the 1990s, as government stepped up its fight against aggressive driving, two ideological groups of drivers emerged, taking opposing sides on government intervention in controlling motorists. The ideological "right" consists of "assertive" drivers who take driving seriously, consider themselves skilled, complain bitterly about law enforcement practices, and uphold an aggressive attitude towards many drivers whom they consider incompetent, inconsiderate, and responsible for most accidents. The ideological "left" promote more government intervention and legislation restricting the behavior of motorists, such as aggressive driving initiatives by police, electronic traffic control devices, neighborhood traffic calming strategies, total speed enforcement, maintenance of a national database of aggressive drivers, and a national hotline for reporting license numbers of cars observed driving aggressively. Interestingly, both sides support better driver training, but neither side sees training as the central issue.

An increasing polarization is taking place between those who pressure government officials to initiate more aggressive approaches against aggressive drivers, and those who oppose further government intervention as intrusive and unnecessary. Each side is well-prepared with its own ideology, logic, and statistics to back up its arguments. A variety of individual and collective efforts are active across the country, such as the group Citizens For Roadside Safety.

== References and Bibliography ==


Craig-Henderson, Kellina M. (2007). Road Rage: When Drivers Lose It -- A review of Road Rage: Assessment and Treatment of the Angry, Aggressive Driver by Galovski, Tara E., Malta, Loretta S. and Blanchard, Edward. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2006.

Goleman, Daniel. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. (Bantam Book, 1995)

Larson, John. (1996). Steering Clear of Highway Madness: A Driver's Guide to Curbing Stress and Strain (BookPartners, Oregon, 1996).

James, Leon and Nahl, Diane. (2000). Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare (New York: Prometheus Books).

James, Leon. (1997). Aggressive Driving and Road Rage: Dealing With Emotionally Impaired Drivers. The House Congressional Subcommittee on Surface Transportation Hearing July 17, 1997, Washington, D.C. “Road Rage: Causes and Dangers of Aggressive Driving” http://www.house.gov/transportation/surface/sthearin/ist717/ist717.htm

James, Leon. (1987). Traffic Violence: A Crisis in Community Mental Health Innercom—Newsletter of the Mental Health Association in Hawaii (June 1987). Reproduced on the Web at http://www.drdriving.org/articles/violence.htm

James, Leon and Nahl, Diane. (1998). Drivers Behaving Badly on TV--DBB Ratings. http://www.drdriving.org/articles/dbb.htm

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA). Strategies for Aggressive Driver Enforcement. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/enforce/aggressdrivers/intro.html

Pearsall, Paul. (1996). The pleasure prescription : to love, to work, to play-- life in the balance. (Alameda, CA : Hunter House Publishers)

Rathbone, Daniel B. and Huckabee, Jorg C. (1999). Controlling Road Rage: A Literature Review and Pilot Study Prepared for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. http://www.aaafoundation.org/resources/index.cfm?button=roadrage

Reed, James B., Goehring, Janet B. and Mejeur, Jeanne. (1997). National Conference of State Legislatures, Environment, Energy and Transportation Program Reducing Crashes, Casualties and Costs--Traffic Safety Challenges for State Legislatures, February 1997, www.ncsl.org/programs/esnr/transer5.htm

Rothe, Peter, Editor (2002). Driving Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer. (Edmonton: University of Alberta Press).

Williams, R. and Williams, V. (1993). Anger Kills. New York: Harper Perennial, 1993.

== Useful Road Rage Links to Web Sites ==

Drivers.com Road Rage Featured Articles: http://drivers.com/topic/31/

DrDriving.org Road Rage Articles: http://www.DrDriving.org/articles

Citizens Against Speeding and Aggressive Driving www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Show/5782/CASAD.html

The Speed Trap Exchange. http://www.speedtrap.org/

National Motorist Association summary about road rage -- what drivers as well as the government should do to help stop road rage. http://www.motorists.com/info/road_rage.html

This website talks about the popular belief that venting is good. It also gives reasons why venting is, in reality, bad for you. http://whyfiles.org/118anger/3.html

Statistics on injuries caused by aggressive driving. http://www.aaafoundation.org

Argues that road rage is to be considered a mental disorder. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13152708/

Empowering drivers in a different way. Empowered drivers are those who are aware of other people on the road and have control over themselves. Anger Free Driving: http://www.compassionpower.com/anger_free_driving.php

Stress Factors Experienced by Female Commercial Drivers in the Transportation Industry www.cdc.gov/elcosh/docs/d0300/d000391/d000391.html

The Effect of Age, Gender, and Type of Car Driven Across the States www.drdriving.org/surveys/interpretations.htm

A Review of Global Road Accident Fatalities www.transport-links.org/transport_links/filearea/publications/1_771_Pa3568.pdf

The Phenomenon of Road Rage: Complexities, Discrepancies and Opportunities for CR Analysis www.trinstitute.org/ojpcr/3_3scott.htm

The influence of car type on drivers' risk taking www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_rdsafety/documents/page/dft_rdsafety_504575-03.hcsp

Motivating for safety and health http://psyc.queensu.ca/target/chapter11.html

The theory of risk homeostasis http://psyc.queensu.ca/target/chapter04.html

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