Psych 409a: October 16, 2006
Types of Road Rage Driving and Driving Tips
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 84 to 108.
A. Passive-Aggressive Road Rage
i. Reactionary protest against feeling wronged by other drivers
ii. Preventing others from doing what they need to do
B. Left Lane Bandit Road Rage
i. Can be motivated by stubbornness and just being contradictory
ii. Justify what they do because it is not technically illegal
C. Verbal Road Rage
i. Complaining about the various things that upset us
ii. Use to say that others are behaving in a negative way
iii. Sometimes are directed at themselves
iv. Form of short relive for drivers
D. Epic Road Rage
i. Is fantasizing taking extreme measures against another driver
1. i.e. beating up, ramming, dragging, shooting and killing
ii. Although extreme it happens far more commonly then we believe
iii. Mental isolations causes a sense of detachment which can provoke this type of road rage
iv. Extreme speeding or racing provides drivers with an elation of his “epic” accomplishment
v. http://www.drdriving.org/articles/testimony.htm is a good example of how epic road rage can occur
E. Automotive Vigilante
i. Aggressive action against other motorist
ii. Retaliation against what they perceived as an action done against them
F. Rushing Maniac
i. One of the more common driving obsessions
ii. Has two complementary elements
1. Extraordinary need not to slow down
2. Anger against anyone that causes them to slow down
iii. Running red lights and yield signs is the most frequent cause of accidents in urban areas
G. Aggressive Competitor
i. Competing over things in a vehicle
1. i.e parking spaces, racing, and respect
ii. Some say its just for fun, seeing it as harmless
H. Scofflaw
i. Habitually ignoring the law
ii. Assume that we are above the law
iii. Seeing that some laws do not apply to us
A. Avoid eye contact
B. Don’t’ take your eyes off the road
C. Consider the effect of your driving on others
D. If you are followed call 911 or go to a police station
E. If you are driving angry ask yourself if it is worth it
F. Keep away from erratic drivers
G. Understand that you can’t control traffic, only your reaction
H. Driving is transportation, not competition
I. Never Assume that an apparently aggressive act was intended
J. Pretend other drivers are people you know
K. Take it easy, drive safely
L. Go with the flow of the traffic
M. Do not slam breaks if you are tail gated
Links:
http://www.drdriving.org/articles/testimony.htm - I used this link because I thought it was a good way to show how road rage could escalate to an epic road rage problem. It shows that epic road rage does not have to happen immediately but can happen over time.
http://www.addictionrecov.org/paradigm/P_PR_W98/James.html - This site shows the different components of road rage. But more importantly categorizes the types of road rage into zones of aggressiveness. This could further the understanding of the amount of aggressiveness of the type of road rage that they are thinking of.
http://www.angeresources.com/motorbeware.html - This site shows similar types of road rage but under different titles. This could help further the understanding of road rage if some things seem unclear.
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