PSYCHOLOGY 409A January 23, 2006
Outline 1:
The Reality that Road Rage Exists and its Universal Prevalence
By Lincoln James Whyte
Leon James and Diane Nahl (2000). Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare. (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books). pp 21-27.
Instructions for this activity are found
at: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/g24-oral1.htm
Instructor: Dr. Leon James
Concept 1: Reality that Road Rage Exists and is Not Media Hype
When vehicles first took to the roads in the early 1900’s there may not have been road rage, but for one to now deny its existence is just not possible. Some claim that road rage is simply media hype. It is true that the media plays up extreme acts of road rage, such as those that end in shootings. The media treats it as a source of entertainment for their viewer. Surely at one point the term road rage did not exist but its attributes are not recent. The definition of road rage has changed over the years and has broadened to include a number of things that many would not consider to be worthy of the term road rage. Regardless of the definition you give to the aggressive acts that take place on the roads the point is that people are needlessly being injured and killed. Despite the increases in modern technologies such as road construction, medical improvements, and safety devices in automobiles, the number of people dying is not decreasing because the aggressiveness of drivers is not changing. At least not for the better. Drivers are becoming more stressed out and angered as the number of cars on the road increases and the traffic worsens. The existence of road rage is not limited to the rush hour commute or to traffic in general. It is occurring in the cities, and rural country roads, and all over the world.
Concept 2: The Universal Prevalence of Road Rage
As the relative price of cars is decreasing and their numbers are increasing around the world it is no surprise that road rage is not a local problem but a world wide phenomenon that is on the rise. Motorists around the globe are being subject to traffic and lack of parking to the point where aggression seems the only cure. One of the proposed roots of road rage, and a reason for its universal prevalence, is that it is in our human nature of competitiveness and aggression. In other words it is a cultural problem influenced by sports, television and movies. One can pick up the paper or search the web to effortlessly find countless examples of road rage occurring around the world, from North America to Europe, Africa and Asia, all the way from big cities to small towns. Every city has their stories to tell and that is what is alarming. Many lives are jeopardized every day because of the impatience or aggression of another. Because it is nearly impossible to avoid being a road user, whether it means being a driver, passenger, cyclist, or pedestrian, road rage and aggressive driving are problems that need to be addressed in order to improve the safety of all people.
Related Links:
1. Panhandle girl shot in head during road rage incident
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/13692580.htm I chose this link, to add to the list of examples found in the text, to bring to reality the harshness of road rage. Although events like these are not too common it shows that a simple incident, such as tailgating someone or following too closely for their comfort, can escalate to cases of extreme road rage and in some cases murder.
2. Magistrate issues warning in road-rage case
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200601/s1553520.htm This article is an example of road rage occurring in Australia. If the article did not say where the incident took place I could not have guessed it because of the fact that road rage is the same the world over. It seems that no matter where someone comes from or what type of culture they are surrounded by the truth is that every one is susceptible to the angers of driving.
3. Roads to Nowhere
http://www.time.com/time/europe/af/article/0,13716,1146552,00.html This article takes place in Africa. I also chose this article because it shows the reality that road rage exists in other countries, even non western ones. This article along with the accompanying photo also shows that our traffic problems and stemming road rage are not nearly as bad as in some other countries in the world. It may take you an extra 15 minutes to get where you want to go here in Hawai‘i, but at least we do not have to resort to driving on the sidewalks to the point where they cease to exist in order to save time.
My Home Page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409as2006/whyte/home.htm
G24 Class Home Page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/classhome-g24.htm