A Review of
Dr. Leon James and Dr. Diane Nahl, Road
Rage & Aggressive Driving; Steering Clear of Highway Warfare,
Prometheus Books, 2000
By Katherine Gimeno
December 8, 2002
Instructions for this report can be accessed here
To
visit Dr. Leon James Home Page:
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/leon.html
I. BOOK'S OVERALL CONTENT
Dr.
James' book is divided into three main sections with twelve chapters. Part 1 is
entitled "The Conflict Mentality," This section addresses the
condition of today's road rage and the reasons behind our hostility. Part 2 is
called "Driving Psychology," which talks about the skills we need to
learn, in order to combat our emotions and to prevent rage. Part 3 is named,
"The Future of Driving." This section discusses the consequences of
Road Rage and other prospective circumstances that we must deal with.
This
structure enables the reader to have a comprehensive view of the many aspects
of Road Rage. I will identify what I thought to be Major Topics in each section
by defining and explaining them. By the end of this report you will have a
thorough understanding and the skills needed to prevent "Road Rage"
and may even use these skills in other aspects of your life.
Topic # 1 (Chapter 1, pg. 28-32)
The
first topic I want to discuss is "The Culture
of Disrespect." Why are we all so angry? In order to change our
negative attitudes and emotions about driving we must first comprehend the
reasons behind our rage. The Culture of Disrespect examines the role of media,
especially television and video games, where there seems to be a normalcy for
violence and aggressive behavior.
Our
culture teaches us how much violence we can tolerate and the media is the
perfect example of a culture that promotes aggressive behavior, which
contributes to the rage outburst at work, parking lots, and on the roads. Each
hostile experience we encounter toughens us and makes it more likely that we
will engage in disrespect on the roads.
Topic # 2 (Chapter 2, pg. 62-64)
The
next topic I want to discuss is "Emotional-
Self Control." Often times we are put in situations where our
feelings and emotions take over us, we begin to think irrationally and get
ourselves into a negative pattern of thinking. In order to control our emotions
we need to learn two skills.
The
first is self-appraisal. This means, observing our emotions in an
organized way by taking account of how we express it. The second skill is self-regulation.
After we focus on how we express our emotions, we have to learn how to manage
it so it does not lead to an aggressive or destructive behavior to others or
ourselves.
Topic # 3 (Chapter 5, pg. 114-116)
"Emotional Intelligence" is the skill we need
to remain calm under stressful circumstances on the road. When we can
understand and control our own thoughts and feelings we become better equipped
to deal with other drivers. If everyone were to become more aware of their thoughts
and feelings and how those affected their driving, the atmosphere on the
roadways would improve.
Emotional
intelligence provides us an understanding of how anger arises and that venting
only makes you angrier not alleviate it. Emotional Intelligence involves self -
management skills like thinking positive thoughts instead of negative thoughts
and self- calming techniques like breathing slowly as alternatives to venting
Topic # 4 (Chapter 6, pg. 133-144)
The
"Three-Step Driver Self-Improvement Program"
was proposed to assess one's behavior in order to improve our driving behavior
and emotional state. The goal of this program is to identify problematic
tendencies and attitudes. It requires an individual to be objective, to
recognize and, to grasp our actions, thoughts, and emotions. The three steps
include: Acknowledging, Witnessing, and, Modifying behavior.
The
first step is Acknowledging that we need a better understanding of why road
rage occurs and assessing what our problems are as a driver. Next, Witnessing
means to be consciously aware of your behavior while driving. Some behaviors
can be observed by other persons in the car, but for witnessing emotions and
thoughts, you can verbalize the activity in order to create a description of
what you felt at the time. Last, Modifying can be done by mentally switching
roles with other drivers to try to empathize with their situation.
Topic #
5 (Chapter 7, pg. 151-153)
Another
topic I want to discuss is "Youth and Road
Rage." The road rage tradition
is passed on to the next generation through
the norms and behavior of their parents. Years, before children begin to drive,
they absorb and imitate the values of those around them.
We
need to teach our children how to be good passengers and in return, reward them
with positive reinforcement for each successful trip. Small tokens of
appreciation or even verbal rewards are good ideas to learn the value of being
a good passenger.
Topic #6 (Chapter 8, pg. 167-170)
"Supportive Driving" is another topic I want
to discuss. It is a brotherly approach to driving that reminds us that there is
a diversity of drivers on the road from different walks of life. We need to
tolerate other drivers' differences and learn how to share the road.
Defensive
and oppositional driving can lead to feelings of suspicion by labeling the
other driver the enemy. Supportive driving with training in emotional
intelligence is a way to view other drivers with empathy and
understanding. This creates supportive driving behaviors.
Topic #7
"Life long Driver Education" is the continuous
training adults need regardless of age or experience to improve as drivers.
There are many programs that provide the skills for life long driver education
including driver-ZED, an interactive CD-ROM program which teaches appropriate
risk management and the QDC (Quality Driving Circles) Approach, where groups of
2-10 drives meet regularly to follow a self-improvement program. The purpose of
QDCs is to provide a social support system to allow drivers to maintain a high
level of driving excellence.
*ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS*
As
you read through the book you can see that each topic is related in a way that
we are introduced to the reasons behind aggressive driving and then how we can
overcome it though different skills offered in the book. The skills taught in
this book like Emotional Intelligence can also be applied in other areas of
life, not just on the highways.
I
have taken an Emotional Psychology course before but it was very technical. It
was only after reading this book where I fully comprehended how our affect and
cognitive mechanisms are intertwined using road rage as clear example. I
recommend this book especially to adolescents that are learning to drive for
the first time and the rest of us who has ever been in a vehicle. This book
offers important advice for drivers and passengers alike.
Reading
this book allows drivers more awareness of their driving habits and how to
control our emotions in order to have a more pleasant experience on the
highways. I also recommend this book to Psychology students who want to get a
good example of how important emotions affect our daily lives.
II. BOOK'S IMPORTANCE
This
book's significance focuses on the reality of the road rage problem in our
country. The media plays a great role in reinforcing these negative road rage
behaviors through television, movies, and video games. They present road rage
as a glamorous act, making it a fun and exciting challenge, establishing a
feeling of triumph through aggressive behaviors.
Watching
aggressive behaviors through the media only reinforces negative behaviors. The tough reality of
people actually getting injured or killed is never emphasized. The solution to
help our culture of disrespect is to recognize behaviors and address them as
aggressive to your self and to others.
Another
problem that contributes to Road Rage is passing improper reactions of Road
Rage to our kids. We can solve this by setting good examples. Don't badmouth
other drivers while kids are present. Talk about good and bad things that you
have witnessed together. Then offer positive solutions to problems encountered.
Encourage kids to wear their seat belts and other good behavior, then reward
them for their good behavior.
Learning
how to control our emotions is another step in combating road rage. We must
look for alternative solutions to express anger by empathizing with other
drivers and by thinking positive thoughts. Being a psychology major, I can say
that the contents of this book is related most especially to the Psychology of
Emotions. The book gives an intensive look at how our emotions function in our
lives. Everyone can benefit from the messages in this book.
III. BOOK'S STRUCTURE
There
are numerous exercises and tests in this book that helps the reader identify
his or her own behaviors or driving habits. I like how the checklists are
scattered throughout the book because it allows the reader to have a more
direct involvement with the book's message. You can also take the tests to
assess different aspects of your driving personality and how you can improve
it. Below are 5 exercises that I found useful to discover my own driving habits
and attitudes:
In
chapter one on pages 40-42 was the first exercise called Your Road Rage Tendency. It is a simple exercise
where you circle either yes or no to show how aggressive you are as a driver
and how much road rage you actually have. The more yes you circle the higher
you road rage tendency. My test results showed that my road rage is average (I
scored a 6) I've never gotten a ticket so far and I think this is a reflection
of not being an aggressive driver.
In
chapter three on pages 81-82, is another exercise called Your Range of Hostility. This is a checklist that
helps measure degrees of hostility from mild forms to extreme violence. I fall
under the Hostile Zone, which is a relatively mild form of aggression. I
couldn't imagine actually getting to the point of physical aggression towards
another driver, that's too extreme for me.
In
chapter four on page 91, there is an exercise called Your
Verbal Road Rage Tendency. This is another checklist that helps the
reader identify whether or not he or she would say a range of negative comments
from the list. I checked four out of twelve, so I guess my verbal tendencies
aren't too bad.
In
chapter seven on page 158 is an exercise entitled Recognizing
Aggression On The Road. This exercise helps children identify the idea
of violence in public places. After taking this test I realized that I don’t
know too many aggressive kids that would do the things mentioned in the test.
Most kids I know are brought up in strict families including my own. Bad
behavior is not allowed.
Tables
and diagrams are also scattered throughout the book to encompass a main message
or to give statistical information. For example, in Chapter 9, table 3, is a
breakdown of percentages of young versus older drivers who admit to aggressive
driving behaviors listed.
Another
table I particularly liked is in Chapter 5, table 4, which is an exercise in
shrinking one's emotional territory. One side of the table list the
oppositional driving style that most people would say or think and the other
side has the supportive driving style, which we want to achieve.
At
the end of every chapter is a section entitled "Notes." It is a mini
bibliography or works cited type section that is connected to end notes in the
chapter. This makes it easier to find where information throughout that
particular chapter came from or to find more information, instead of putting it
all together at the end of the book.
Another
helpful part of this book is the index. It gives the reader a detailed guide
for facilitating references which makes it easy to find information to certain
sections in the book. The main topics in the index should be bold-faced so
readers can easily distinguish it from the sub topics below it, otherwise the
subtopics should be indented more.
The
Chapter titles were well suited for each section. It was good organization to
split the book into three sections to identify the progression of each main
idea. Finally the literature reviews at the end of the book are also helpful.
Before buying a book, I always read the back cover to see what it’s all about.
The reviews give you an idea whether you will buy the book or not.
IV. CRITIQUE OF THE BOOK
The
book also contains numerous quotes from real life experiences of road rage that
brings a vivid and colorful account of road rage reality. I enjoyed the
personal anecdotes of people through out this book because you get a genuine
view of what people have experienced.
One
particular passage I liked was from a Philippine resident who describes Road
rage in her country. She said, "You hardly hear complaints here about road
rage because we got so used to it that it seems normal. Things like swearing,
tailgating, reckless driving, and cutting off."
I've
been to the Philippines numerous times and I was frightened when I first
visited. People really don't have any sense of consideration there, it's every
man for himself. I'm glad it hasn't reached that point here; that's why it's so
important to read this book and be educated. Reading this book, teaches you how
to how to mange your emotions of road rage and how to be a supportive driver to
other's on the road.
I
did not find any real weaknesses in the book. The book is relatively easy to
read and understand. There is a lot of valuable information in here that can
help anyone become a better driver and make the roads and the world itself a
much safer place. The only suggestion I can make is to revise the book every
few years so that information is always up to date and maybe a few pictures of
car crashes or other incidents caused by road rage to discourage people from
this kind of emotion.
Here
are a few links to reviews of Dr. James' book:
http://www.aipsnews.com/pr01.htm
http://www.drivers.com/store/books/book018a.shtml
V. ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS
Every
book has a purpose and a message, this book has taught me the value of becoming
aware of our surroundings and taking responsibility for our emotions and our
actions. This is not a book just about Road Rage, but humanity and the need to
improve a society were the expression of rage has become acceptable. In
studying the Epidemic of Road Rage we not only get a chance to evaluate the
intricacies of our emotions, but we also acquire the skills needed to repair
our human relations.