A Review of
Dr. Leon James and Dr. Diane Nahl,
Road Rage & Aggressive Driving; Steering Clear of Highway Warfare, Prometheus Books, 2000
by Erin 1 April 2002
All About This Book
There are many topics throughout this book. The only way to experience this book to the fullest is to read it yourself . . . but here is a brief overview.
Preface
Readers often ignore the preface in the books they read. In this case, the preface sets the tone of the book. It tells the story of the two authors of this book and how they got started on their road rage journey.
Emotional Conflict
The beginning portion of this book talks about the many different aspects of emotions and conflict that contribute to thoughts and acts of road rage. It names and describes characteristics and traits that lead to the behaviors and attitudes. Some of these are gender, cultural norms and background. Although men are more aggressive in most situations, women are no longer far behind when it comes to thoughts and acts of road rage. Women now being in the work place and often having so many chores to do are contributing factors. Juggling work, groceries, kids with school, sports, and other activities, and other various things all help in the race to equal men and their road rage. We need to review cultural norms and perception. After having researched these, we will often find that people come by their thoughts and actions honestly. The lessons they have learned, and the societal norms play a role in the people they have or will become.
Impaired DriversThis section talks about the different ways we can become impaired drivers. Impaired drivers are no longer just drivers under the influence of alcohol. We now have to worry about drugs both illegal and over-the-counter, fatigue, and upset feelings due to feelings of pain, being ill, hurt, angry, or even excited feelings. Drugs are everywhere. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of drugs, is a picture of young kids experimenting. This idea of mine no longer applies. I now realize that drugs are everywhere. It ranges from the innocent being taking their medicine and then getting on the road to the regular abuser that may or may not be easily identified and thinks nothing of driving under the influence. Thinking back, I realize there have been a few times that I’ve gotten behind the wheel tired or with angry or hurt feelings. I like everyone else think that I am a pretty good driver. If I have been negligent about driving at my best, others must be guilty too.
Emotional Intelligence
Understanding your own and others’ thoughts and feelings, and the ability to control your own thoughts and feelings plays a significant role in driving. Understanding or trying to understand how others might feel helps me to react to my best ability to the actions of other drivers. Being aware of my own feelings, and controlling them forces me to behave as a better driver. 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 at least a little.
Self Improvement
We can all stand to improve ourselves in someway. We can especially stand to improve our driving abilities and behaviors. There is a basic three-step program you can read about in the book. Very simple for any driver to follow, the steps are to acknowledge, witness, and modify. First we need to acknowledge that we can improve ourselves. Second we should witness or take note of our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Third we should modify or fix one negative thing at a time. We can always improve our selves.
Youth Drivers Education
This may sound funny at first. Kids aren’t allowed to drive, so why should they be educated? My youth driver education consisted of always wearing a seat belt, helping Mom and Dad with whatever they needed, and happily singing along with John Denver or Kenny Rodgers. The point is that we learn about driving as young passengers. Mom and Dad were always polite using please, thank you, and you’re welcome on the road. If ever we saw something out of the ordinary, Mom or Dad explained it. Everything growing up was a learning experience. Sometimes we don’t realize that children are learning our bad habits.
Public Concern With Road Rage
The public should be and for the most part is concerned with road rage. Road rage affects everyone, even pedestrians and passengers. We all need to be aware. Whether we like it or not we are all affected even if we don’t drive. Everyone contributes by talk and actions. The radio contributes often by making jokes. Road rage is everywhere, TV, movies, even in cartoons. Here are a few web sites that I found:
http://www.baddpage.com/ddinfo.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/98aug/roadrage.htm
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/aggressive/unsafe/att-beh/cov-toc.html
http://www.aloha.net/~dyc/
Problems and Solutions
One problem that stands out in my mind that is often discussed in our Road Rage class every Monday is the problem of venting. We have always been taught to vent our anger. This act makes us immune to the effects of our venting. We see nothing wrong with swearing about another driver in the car. Soon after, we see nothing wrong with tailgating, speeding, and other dangerous behaviors that often occur on the road. To avoid these negative venting behaviors, we must simply choose. We can choose to be understanding rather than upset at something that happens on the road. We can choose to continue driving safely rather than speed, tailgate, or act inappropriately. We choose our behaviors, and we should choose to not vent or display or even hold on to our upset feelings.
Another problem already mentioned is teaching our youth our road rage. We see kids in the car with unsafe drivers. We see kids climbing around in vehicles rather than sitting nicely, strapped in with their seatbelts on. Sometimes kids are playing near a busy street or where drivers can’t see them. The solution is a phrase often heard throughout the military. LEAD BY EXAMPLE! Put on your own seatbelt after you’ve strapped your child in. Behave in a positive manner, always. Talk about good and bad things that you have witnessed together. Then you should reward them for their good behavior. Thank your children for behaving nicely. Maybe after an extra special display of good behavior you should take your child out for an ice cream cone.
Self Tests
Throughout the book there are tests you can take to monitor your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. A lot of these tests helped me to be more aware of my actions. Here are a few.
The test in the first chapter is a checklist to measure "Your Road Rage Tendency". The checklist asks yes or no questions about thoughts and behaviors relating to road rage. I kinda giggled at some of the questions, but then realized that some people have problems that are described by these questions. In the end I scored a 6, which labels me as a person with "moderate road rage habits".
Page 88 of the book has a passive aggressive checklist. With the exception of making faces, these are all things that I have been taught are extremely inconsiderate behaviors in addition to being potentially dangerous. This passive resistance is a sneaky way of antagonizing other drivers and the law. I’m proud to say that I checked only half a check out of these ten examples. Although I make faces, I am very careful to not make gestures toward or about other drivers while on the road.
In the chapter entitled Children and Road Rage, there are Passenger and Driving Observation Forms. These are observational, learning exercises for children and their mentors to check off and go over after a ride in the car. They are checklists for good as well as bad behaviors. I think this is a neat idea that will make both children and adults more aware of their environment.
Notes
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 easy to find where information throughout that particular chapter came from or to find more information. Another helpful part of this book is the index. It is very detailed which makes it easy to find information or refer to certain sections in the book. 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 lure you in to learn more. More reviews that you can find on the Internet:
http://www.aipsnews.com/pr01.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/98aug/roadrage.htm
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/aggressive/unsafe/att-beh/cov-toc.html
http://www.aloha.net/~dyc/
http://www.aipsnews.com/pr01.htm
Health and Stress
Chapter two of this book especially talks about Mental Health. It mentions denial, passing blame onto other drivers rather than taking responsibility, anger and the fifteen stressors. These are all unhealthy ways of behaving. Things talked about in this chapter can ruin your day, and also ruin your health.
Where does this book fit?
As an undergraduate psychology student, I think this book fits into the world of psychology perfectly. Road Rage and Aggressive Driving fits especially in Social Psychology. It affects everyone and the way we interact with each other. The topics in this book can also be incorporated into Developmental Psychology. Children can learn a lot about driving, its affects, and behaviors associated with it. Childhood experiences in a vehicle can influence a person life. Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology could jump on the bandwagon also. This book talks a lot about thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The topics discussed throughout this book play a role in all aspects of life.
Lessons to be learned
Strengths and Weaknesses