A Book Review of:
Road Rage and Aggressive Driving
Steering Clear of Highway Warfare
By: Dr. Leon James and Dr. Diane Nahl
Reviewed By: Ai Yamane
Psy 409a--Fall 2001--G 15
Dr. Leon James, Instructor
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Introduction |
Education and Psychology |
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Problems and Solutions |
Problems and Solutions |
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Media and Society |
Helpful Hints |
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Implication for the Future |
Links |
Introduction
This book review is on Road Rage and Aggressive Driving by Dr. Leon James and Dr. Diane Nahl. Before reading this book, I knew little about road rage. Because of this, this book has opened my eyes to aspects of road rage I never dreamed of. This book was designed for every age group--it discusses how road rage affects young children as well as elderly drivers. At the end of each chapter, there are exercises the reader can do to promote awareness about how he/she drives and multiple examples throughout the chapter helps the reader grasp the concept better.
Education and Psychology
In today's society, everyone says that children are our future. If this is true, then it is through our children that we can stop the road rage epidemic. By following Bandura's theory of modeling, we know that children learn almost everything by copying others. If we as their models promote positive driving, they too will adopt these positive driving habits. However, before we can adopt positive driving habits, we need to acknowledge we have a problem.
Problems and Solutions
A major problem in today's high paced society is the fact that we are all pressed for time and constrained by deadlines. Because of this, we all have elevated amounts of stress which may carry over into the way we drive. According to this book, when we feel stress or anger while driving, we tend to drive more aggressively. Aggressive driving will lead to more accidents which leads to more delays in traffic, which leads to others in traffic getting stressed out and frustrated--it's like a vicious cycle. We are not a aware that when we are stressed we drive more aggressively, and do not acknowledge that we drive more aggressively.
A solution to aggressive driving is the three-step driver self-improvement program. "The first step is to acknowledge that every driver, including you, needs traffic emotions education. The second step is to act as a witness to your actual behavior while driving..., The third step is to modify the behaviors you want to change, one thing at a time," (James and Nahl, pg. 133-134).
Media and Society
The media has a lot to do with road rage. The topic of road rage appears on various newspaper and television news headlines. Even though we often hear about the problems of road rage, we rarely hear about solutions. However, in an article by the Associated Press , there is a pilot educational driving course called "Empowered Driving" that educates drivers to have better driving skills. Because driving is a mental task, it is through courses like these that help us to be mentally strong and thus become better, safer drivers.
After learning that 42,000 people will die from road rage, and car crashes will kill more 15-20 year olds than any other cause, I feel that road rage awareness is definitely needed on our society. Apparently, other readers of this book feel the same way. In other book review comments such as, "Everything you always wanted to know about road rage and aggressive driving. Leon James and Diane Nahl bring the scholarship desperately needed," (John A. Larson, M.D., F.A.P.A.) "This book can literally save your life," (Allen Liles), further emphasize the need for road rage awareness. Awareness and acknowledgment are key to curbing the road rage epidemic.
Helpful Hints
At the end of each chapter, Dr, James and Nahl give exercises which I found really helpful. In these exercises, aggressive drivers monitor their behaviors while driving. Before I tried any of these exercises, I, like a lot of other drivers, didn't think that I was a bad driver, however, after doing these exercises, I realized that I did need to change my driving habits. In fact, I found these so helpful that I told my friends and family about this and they too are now modifying their driving habits.
Implications for the Future
At the end of the book, Dr. James and Dr. Nahl talk about the future of the car. Slowly but surely, the government and lawmakers are realizing how dangerous it is out there on the road. Police officers are cracking down on road rage, and speeding. Some states now require new drivers to take mandatory driver education courses before they can get their license. Classes are being developed to help aggressive drivers curb their aggressive tendencies. Is this necessary? I think it is. According to this book, "The stressfull consequences of daily commutes include:
-Increased production of gastric acid
-Increased risk for gastrointestinal disorders
-Increased production of "fight or flight" hormones
-Reduced blood supply to the brain
-Lowered immune response for several hours
-Increased blood pressure
-Higher heart rate"
With all of these health factors to consider, who wouldn't think its worth it?
Overall, I found this book very helpful and would recommend it to anyone who drives or is learning to drive. This book hits all aspects of driving, affective, cognitive and sensorimotor. It also hits all age ranges, children, teens, adults and the elderly. A key point this book makes is that we all need to be aware of ourselves before we can change. As word gets around about this epidemic, I believe we will start to see change.
Links