INTRODUCTION

a)After getting into Deja News, I simply went to the 'search box' and typed in "Aggressive Drivers." You may also change the number of subjects to come on the screen. In my case, I set the options to 100. After waiting for some seconds, I got a list of my 100 topics. Before I continue, I just want to say that I was (and still) surprised that there are so many people who actually talk about aggressive driving (no offense, really).

b)The name of the Newsgroups I chose to read were Toronto Troubles and Daily Gripe: Lights on in the Rain.By clicking on the subjects I searched, you will be able to read what the subject matter is. After reading the messages, I notice that people can state ANY opinion they have. This is probably due to the fact that we are writing to strangers, and not being face to face makes it all the easier. I see Newsgroups as 'convenient.' If someone had an interest not all that common, (aggressive drivers is a good one) there just might be a chance that other people may have the same interest as you. Also, by browsing through subjects, you may bump into new subjects that interest you.

c)There are so many interenet users in the world. So in order to catch up with your group, you MUST check very often. I see that within a few hours, new topics are being brought up.

Like I said earlier, I am already active in my two mailing lists on the e-mail, so when I first checked out Deja News, I didn't really think of joining something else. But the more I explored and read other people's comments about it, I really am thinking of trying this out. If there is a group I find nice, I think I can see myself as being a participant.

Like I stated earlier, not being face to face with someone makes it easy for people to speak their mind. You can find so many different personalities in Newsgroups. Here are some I came across:

YOUR AVERAGE NEWSGROUP MEMBER
These are the people who simply read the messages and write back nicely. Boring as they seem, they are way better off than the others to come. Here is an example of this type I found in "Toronto Troubles":

>What I notice is that a lot of the time, the people with their lights off >are the ones that disappear the *easiest* into the mist and rain : grey, >black and silver cars are the worst. They just melt into the road so I >can't see them. Agreed. I bet if someone took statistics on this one, more accidents occur in cars that match the color of the road like medium grey, flat black and certain silver toned ones than accidents caused by "aggressive drivers". (And by aggressive, I mean totally wreckless driving, not just someone who cusses, blows horn or gives you the finger.

THE WISE A**
This type loves to pretend they are better than others. These kinds of messages are actually rather common, and I think it actually makes reading the messages interesting. If it's directed at you, then that might be a different story. This is not a great one, but here's an example:

> However, I noted that a larger number of men than women had there > headlights off if I counted both passenger vehicles and pickup trucks and vans used in the trades. > This is because all these vehicles were driven almost exclusively by men. And your point/conclusion about this is???

THE FLAMERS
Flamers who have gone beyond rude and act really immature. They swear, make ridiculous remarks, you get the picture. I haven't found one yet, but I will add to this when I do.

PEOPLE WHO GO OFF THE SUBJECT
This particular group I was reading were talking about aggressive drivers in New York when I found this:
That's the "spam I am" sex spam, right? "Would you, could you, in a boat? Would you, could you, with a goat? Would you do green eggs and ham? Try it, try it, spam I am!"

PEOPLE WHO CONTINUE TO GO OFF WITH THE SUBJECT
This is self explanatory, but there are people who are like this and cause more irritated minds on the newsgroups. This is in reaction to the previous message:
I do not want your MLMs;
I don't want to see nude teenage femmes.
I do not want psychic advice,
So there's no need to mail me thrice.
I do not like New Jerseyan swearing,
And I don't want the panties you're wearing.

These kinds of people aren't all that surprising to me. It is to be expected somewhat. If there are rude people, ignore them like what Dr. James does. The flamers could actually be rude all the time, or they could have just been hurt at the comment whether it was directed personally or not. People who become "wise" could actually have a twisted mind, or perhaps he's trying to be someone he normally isn't. We don't know these things, especially since we're dealing with cyberspace.

The Congressional Testimony of Dr. Drivingis a highly detailed report of driving attitudes by Dr. James. Here is a brief summary on this report:

Driving attitudes leading to road rage is "a habit acquired in childhood." For example, if a child has always seen his/her parent yelling at other drivers, the child will think that behavior is normal, thus behaving the same way as their parents when they start driving. This behavior can be unlearned, but will take quite a bit of time.
A simple act of kindness led one female driver into immediate anger. This driver has kindly let another driver go in front of her. That person hadn't thanked her. She wanted revenge, and she got the other driver back. She did not realize that she had "road rage behavior." Ways to decrease road rage in various parts of the US can be seen on this page also.
"78% of company car drivers said that at some time another driver had verbally abused them..." are some of the statistics that convinced me that road rage is a big problem that is still growing.
Drivers should stop and think about the drivers who are bothering them. People make mistakes. The drivers may be older, or perhaps, be experiencing physical problems, or they just might be having a bad day. I also learned that older drivers are terrified when being tailed, and tailing is causes more aggressive drivers.
20 statements of agressive behavior are also given on this page. By the number of "true" answers, you will see how much "road rage" you have in you.
Dr. James lists three ways (organizations) to deal with aggressive drivers: "Quality Driving Circles", "New Driver's Ed", and "Children Against Road Rage." He also provides links to related topics.

Driving safely is so important to reduce accidents and death, but many drivers don't seem to be aware of it when actually being on the road. Workers want to rush home as soon as they're done, and young drivers have this concept of driving=speed inputted in their brain. Like Dr. Driving mentioned, people's behavior are generally learned, and the way they were brought up is very important. A 100% safe driving is very far from reality. It is like the tragedies we hear on the news. We won't realize the danger of aggressive driving unless something that cannot be turned back happens to them.