Psych 409a: September 12, 2006

Road Rage occurring in our culture and our world

By:  Kirk Ishida

Instructions for this activity are found at:

http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/g25-oral1.htm

Instructor: Dr. Leon James

Leon James and Diane Nahl (2000). Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare. (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books). Reviewing pages 15 to 32.

I.  Road Rage start

            A.  Road rage was introduced to the public by the media

                        1. The phrase “refers to an extreme state of anger that often precipitates aggressive behavior, sometimes                         restricted to words and gestures, sometimes as assault and battery.”(Road Rage p.22)

                        2.  Seems to be started by a Los Angeles Times' writer in 1984

                         (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/303700.html)

            B.  Its original meaning is “one driver acting against another.” (Road Rage p.23) but now includes other modes of             transportation.

II. Road Rage globally

            A.  Slovenia ~ “Travelers should be alert to aggressive drivers…” (Road Rage p.26)

            B. Philippine ~“You hardly hear complaints here about road rage because we got so used to it that it seems

             normal.” (Road Rage p.26)

            C. Thailand ~“With a burst of road rage in which he allegedly almost killed a policeman…” (Road Rage p.26)

            D. South Africa

                        1. “85 percent of the accidents are estimated to be caused by aggressive driving and reckless disregard for                         the safety of other road users” (http://www.gig.org/Features/gig_GD_Letter_9.php)

                        2. They have the 5^th worst traffic accident rate in the world

III. Our Culture

            A. Disrespectful

                        1. Sharon Rodine “discusses the need for greater civility in society.”(Road Rage p.28)

                        2. Our president told us that “winning ugly” was popular in our society

                        3. Wrestling, a “commercially successful event” reinforces violence, insults and lewd acts.”

                        4. Deborah Tannen says that how society is affects driving

                        5. A small graph shown in what way Road Rage drivers shows their anger

Behavior	All Motorists (%)
Aggressive tailgating (driving very close behind)	62
Had lights flashed at me when other motorist annoyed	59
Received aggressive or rude gestures	48
Been deliberately obstructed or prevented from maneuvering my vehicle	21
Received verbal abuse	16
Being physically assaulted	1
None of these	12

(http://www.aaafoundation.org/resources/index.cfm?button=agdrtext#2A)

            B.  Young Men

                        1.  They drive more aggressively because it is a struggle to show their status (ego).

                        2. Action of others is to insult us or make us feel superior.

IV. How Road rage affects us

            A. Negative thoughts while we are driving also cause other things

                        1. More stress

                        2. Higher blood pressure

                        3. Frustration

                        4.  Pessimism

                        5. Less effective mental productivity

            B. We learn driving from our parents, I.E. they have road rage we will likely have it as well.

Links:

http://www.aaafoundation.org/resources/index.cfm?button=agdrtext#2A

            Read and looked at various tables that showed statistics on things related to Road Rage.

http://www.gig.org/Features/gig_GD_Letter_9.php

            I found information about South Africa’s Road rage situation.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/303700.html

            I supposedly found the origin of this phrase also how the meaning became globally and the phrase became common.

My Homepage: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2006/ishida/ishida-home.htm

Class Homepage: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm