"Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare"

By: Dr. Leon James and Dr. Diane Nahl

(Prometheus Books 2000)

Psych 409a—Spring 2002—G16

March 18, 2002

So What’s So Important?

Today’s society is becoming more and more aggressive. This book explains the precursors that arouse this emotional state. Better yet, there are multiple programs that are provided for the readers to practice. I found three reoccurring themes in this book which dealt with rage, health, and attitude. Rage occurs when an individual fails to cross over the Red Bridge. The act of rage is usually linked with aversive stimuli that act as an irritant for the individual. There’s much more going on within an individual besides what they see externally. Aggression also has a physiological component in this picture. For an example, a person’s heart rate will rise, as they become enraged with a particular incident. The most crucial element that effects the outcome of an event is a person’s attitude. The way we think about specific instances could alter the upcoming scenario. A person can already have a negative attitude before getting in his car, and as soon as someone does something to offend him, they go ballistic. They may feel that their blood is boiling, and want to vent out their frustration.

Throughout the book different themes arose with different aspects to them. However, all of the focuses were clustered around repeated topics, which included aggression, arousal, health, self-improvement, and regulatory improvements. Each topic included numerous stories that gave the readers an inside look at the rise of aggression in society. This epidemic is not only occurring in back of the wheel, it happens wherever you go. Aggression can linger for a long time if not treated properly. That is why we can use this book as a guide to acknowledge faulty habits, and to make appropriate corrections where it is needed.

Read All About It!

The information that is included in this exciting book helps readers understand how aggression is aroused. Aggression is all around us, and to become a better society we must first learn to acknowledge what are the main stimuli that triggers this emotional state so that we can control it. Usually aggression goes untreated due to the particular ways that people think. They may feel that nothing is wrong, and in turn feed the aggression that is beneath. The media has a lot of influence on today’s society. Millions of viewer’s everyday turns on the television to watch some kind of program. I am sure that they will come across a television show depicting some sort of violence. The media has to review the programs that they put on the air, because people learn to do things by modeling. For an example, I’m sure if a bank robber always got caught in a particular movie; it wouldn’t look to good of an idea to try it. It must be hard for the entertainment industry to weigh the options and pick the perfect resolution, because it seems that the shows that depict the most violence gets the best ratings. So if they choose to go in that direction than they are adding fuel to the on going fire.

Who Wants to Know?

Only recently has road rage become highly talked about out on the air. Hearing the news of violent incidents on the roads have been coming in at an alarming rate. With the information of aggression being brought out in the open, it allows society to learn about safety precautions in all types of situations. Simple tips in this book can help survive an act of aggression such as not looking at the aggressor at hand or not to slam on your brakes if someone is tailgating you, because it will only aggravate the individual more. By taking steps to insure your safety you may also be prompt to review your habits and the way we think. The time taken out to look at the way we think is the first big step, because there is a lot of IB’s floating around inside all of us. We need to change those IB’s into productive RB’s.

Does This Affect You?

I feel that the media has the biggest influence on today’s society. As I’ve noted earlier, the human race is a curious one. Of course we will try things that we see, and even if those acts are not constructive. A solution that one of Detroit’s arcade hangouts took was removing all games that depicted violence. This was all due through the awareness of what media violence can do.

Driving impaired is very dangerous, and should not be tolerated. Some of these impairments includes alcohol, illegal drugs, extreme fatigue, and emotionally impaired. One shouldn’t be breaking the law when it comes to alcohol and drug usage. If one does do this anyway they should not get behind the wheel, because of the impairments that comes along with them. Emotionally impaired drivers lack emotional regulations. Some ways to gain control are postponing immediate satisfaction you desire, avoid thoughts of victory or punishment, and redirect your negative scenarios of justification.

Self-Test

I would say majority of the book's chapters had some kind of exercise included. These exercises helped the reader to see where they are relating to the exercises. The First exercise dealt with winning or losing pertaining to driving on the road. The more checks accumulated the more disrespect for the roadways. I took the test and I scored 10 out of 16. I was shocked to see that I actually did have a lot of negative feelings while I was in back of the wheel. The Second test helped identify aggressive feelings and thoughts. I did fairly well on this test. Out of 27 I only marked down 3. This showed me that I have to focus on occupying myself when a negative mood comes over me. The Third exercise helped me take a look at my cynical thinking. I found that at times my thinking or judgements were way out there. Instead of trying to make the situation by hurrying during traffic, I probably add to the situation. It’s like a chain reaction if someone has to slam on their brakes if I cut in right in front of them at the last moment. The Fourth exercise was created for passengers in the car. Although it was targeted for children, I took the test anyway. I did very well on this test. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I don’t fight, pull hair, yell in the car, or make faces at other vehicles. The final test that I took dealt with becoming a better driver. Here I was to check those statements in which I was willing to pay more close attention while I was out on the road. I checked the maximum of 14. This exercise will help to remind me of the laws and educational practices that I have encountered.

Backbone

The literature review in back of the book was interesting to read. The two doctors highly talked about the book saying that the helpful methods will allow the readers to become better drivers, etc. I used some of the endnotes to help search for different topics on the web. As for the bibliography, I found that the endnotes were tied in with it so I used them in conjunction. Thank God for the index in this book. Reading a book that has 270 pages may get very difficult, and certain topics may have to be read over again to comprehend it better. But with the index, it helped make searching for things in this book a lot easier. For an example, I wanted to show my friend the information about multitasking. I simple went to the back of the book to look up the word, and there it told me the exact page where I could find the information, pg. 257-258. I wanted him to read the section about Driving Music. My friend crashed his car while changing a CD in his car a few years back. He told me that the music that he was listening to prior to the car crash didn’t fit the mood. My friend didn’t realize the dangers of not paying full attention while driving. Anyway, his car was wrecked and he walked away with a dislocated shoulder. I find that his driving on that day was very aggressive, due to the fact that he could have killed someone by not paying attention.

Got Stress?

Aggression causes an individual to over exert them when aroused. This causes abuse on a persons emotional state and in turn affect their immune system. An unpleasant situation can act as a stressor that will trigger an emotional state of aggression. There has been increasing evidence that says that venting is not good for an individual. This is a complete a totally opposite view compared to earlier view of venting. It also affects our immune functioning and increases stress. Emotional intelligence allows the individual to look at and notice some of the triggering stimuli that causes them to blow up. This method also allows an individual to think more positively, and they also handle specific situations more rationally.

Correlation

We act according to our emotion's everyday. Unfortunately some of those times includes the act of rage. To become a better individual we must learn the important underlying causes of our daily cycles. The Aggressive Driving book helps individuals determine their stressors and teaches them a way to cope effectively. It is directly related to Psychology by research and data provided concerning the learning of human behaviors. People’s behaviors are a direct result of the way they think ineffectively. This type of thinking patterns can lead to anxieties and stress. For an example, on page 268, it says that a person dealing with stressful daily commutes can have devastating results. The production of gastric acid is increased, gastrointestinal disorders increase, increases of the fight or flight hormones, increased blood pressure, higher heart rate, reduced blood supply to the brain, and lowered immune response for several hours all because of the way we cope with specific circumstances. As you can see, these daily commutes can have a disastrous effect if not dealt with properly.

Passages

This book was very enjoyable to read due to the fact that I could relate to a lot of the examples given. The self-help methods allowed me to see my irrational beliefs out in the open. This gave me the opportunity to make a conscious effort to change my driving practices. For an example, I always rush to get to work. I really don’t know why, because I always arrive on time. So I practiced telling myself that I don’t have to get to work in a hurry, because there is a lot of time before I start work. Some of the quotes inside of the book really stuck in my head, to help me better myself in this ever-changing society. There were two quotes that really stuck out. The first one read "Drivers initially resist changing their driving style. This resistance gradually dissipates in the process of discovering that driving without automatic inner pressures is safer and more enjoyable." This particular quote can be found on page 144. The next quote comes from page 194-195. It states "Motivation and responsibility are essential components of affective education." This quote made me think of my responsibility’s as an older driver on the roads. The education that I received from this book has to be practiced for others and my safety on the roads.

Negativity

While reading this book I could feel a disturbing sense come over me. I was surprised to find out that I too was an aggressive driver. I guess that I was too caught up with my irrational beliefs that I didn’t recognize my mistakes. Since then I was able to take a look at my habits and behavioral patterns more in depth. One by one, I focused on the each incident at a time. I found that the Three-Step Driver Self-Improvement Program allowed me to value myself as well as others around by having a sense of respect.

Let’s Review

The extensive collection of study’s provided vast statistical data. Each table made it easy for me to get a clue of what extent was being researched. One that I really found interesting was the comparison of Los Angeles and the United States. The study showed that Los Angeles drivers show more aggressive behaviors over the total United States. Some of the aggressive behaviors included passing on the shoulder lane, speeding up at a yellow light, blocking the left lane, etc. The stories were very interesting also, because they depicted actually incidents of road rage. There was a vicious story told on page 95 of a man that escaped death. The incident happened on Interstate 15 when a driver honked at another driver passing in a closed lane. The driver that honked at the other motorist escaped shots fired at his car near the exit. Overall, I felt that this book was excellent. I couldn’t come up with a weakness unless I was to lie. The book grabbed my attention with every descriptive page.

Other Recources

Targeting Children

I recommend that everyone should have to read this book as a requirement in middle school. The age right before a child can get his or her license is very crucial. By reading this book, the children can get a glimpse at their attitudes towards driving and aggressions in general. Their irrational beliefs will be seen for the first time on paper, and they will soon discover that they do in fact have faulty attributes and behaviors. Although they might think that it’s a waste of time, it might actually save them some heartbreak in the future. There can only be positive things that come out of reading it.