A Review of
Dr. Leon James &
Dr. Diane Nahl
Prometheus Books,
2000
by Sherry Teruya
April 24, 2003
Major Topics:
Part
One: The Conflict Mentality
Topic 1: Facing the Culture of Disrespect (Chapter 1, pages
28-32)
We
live in a society where it has become the “norm” for drivers on the roads to
take their aggressions out on others. Although the statistics for fatalities of
aggressive driving incidents has dropped since the 1950’s and 1960’s, it still
accounts for more fatalities than drunk driving and over forty thousand people
a year die because of this. This should be reason enough as to why this issue
should not be taken lightly. It not only puts fear and terror onto the roadways
and highways, but also adds the cost to our society of 250 billion dollars a
year. Just imagine what this money could do if it could be contributed to other
important problems within our nation.
This
is why it is important for us to monitor our emotions while driving on the
roadways. Because we live in a fast-paced society and culture, we should curb
the nasty moods we occasionally get from daily annoyances, such as traffic.
More importantly, we must understand that culture is what influences us. We are
exposed to violence on television, in movies and videogames. What all this does
to us, as a whole, is further our children and us to the susceptibility of
aggressive behaviors.
Topic 2: Why Driving Arouses Anger (Chapter 2, pages 52-57)
We
are in control of our own emotions. When we get angry, it is our own decision
to feel this way. This is why we must not let our emotions or annoyances (such
as daily hassles) become involved before driving or during the act of driving. However,
there are many reasons as to why we are “emotionally challenged” when we are on
the highways. Among these examples of why driving arouses anger are;
regulation, lack of personal control, multitasking and denial.
Regulations are needed on our
roadways, but are usually perceived as violating our own judgments and rights. Who
is to say that we cannot handle speeding at 90 mph on a 55 mph highway? This
type of superior attitude or “lower emotional intelligence” causes fatalities. Moreover,
along with regulations, traffic makes a person feel they have a lack of personal control and causes the
driver to want to vent anger and frustration. Who likes to wait to get to their
destination because of traffic? Besides, venting is not healthy because it
lowers our immune system and we tend to hold in more hostility if we keep
venting our frustrations.
Multitasking, such as chatting on
a cellular phone, eating or putting on makeup while driving is inconsiderate to
other drivers on the road. Why? Because they have to watch out for the
inconsiderate driver, when the inconsiderate driver should be paying attention
to the road. Denial tends to occur
because of our own biases or defenses against our own driving habits and denial
makes us overlook our own mistakes as drivers. Who is to say that we cannot
talk on the phone or put on makeup and concentrate on driving at the same time?
If you believe this, you are in denial.
What
all these factors have in common is anger, which is intricately connected to
aggressive behavior. When we let detrimental emotions govern our behaviors when
faced with an aggressive driver, in a way, we allow that other driver to dictate
our emotions; we become inferior to their arrogant acts of road rage. For
example if another driver is having a bad day (displaced anger) and intentionally
decides to quickly cut in front of us, it is our own attitude and judgment in
how to react toward their reckless driving. It is up to us to decide if we will
allow them to have that type of control over our emotions.
Topic 3: Trigger Theory of Road Rage (Chapter 3, pages 76-80)
While that other driver was having a bad day and cutting you
off on the highway, it is not justifiable if we retaliate against him or her
just because he or she were the antagonist and was the one who provoked us.
This illogical ploy would make the road rage victim another road rage
aggressor. This is the trigger theory of
road rage. When an aggressive driver intentionally or unintentionally makes
a dangerous maneuver that jeopardizes us, our emotional reaction is the key to
emotional intelligence.
We choose whether to react with the physical act of retribution
or with the mental and verbal mockery toward the driver that put us at risk
(e.g., making obscene gestures, mentally visualizing physically hurting the
other driver or cursing the other driver under your breath). If we choose any
of these paths in the heat of the moment, we too become a person with no
emotional intelligence. Therefore, in order to have emotional intelligence we
must actively learn in controlling our unconscious reactions and motives in an affirmative
way.
For another example, about 10 years ago an intentional and
cruel driver cut me off. This was during busy morning traffic on a highway in
To top off my outrage from this disturbing event, the police
officer I spoke to said that there was nothing I could do if I did not see the
drivers face; therefore, no incident report could be filed. This was in 1993 when
road rage was starting to become an epidemic.
Part Two: Driving Psychology
Topic 4: Overcoming Emotional Hijacking (Chapter 5, pages
112-116)
In the previous example, my first hand experience left me furious
and could have easily made me a road rage statistic. I admit my angry emotions
got the best of me. This example of major road rage left me hostile towards
those who intentionally try to hurt others on the road by endangering other
people’s lives. This is the same hostility I have been accustomed to for being
a defensive driver.
I also must admit that it has taken a long time to learn and
understand why other drivers make mistakes on the road. There are those who do
try to inflict harm upon other people and there are those who do make the
occasional mistakes, after all, we are all human. What I had to learn was that
it was my own decision whether or not I would react in a hostile manner towards
the aggressor. That is what this topic is about. We must learn to mentally reevaluate the unpleasant predicaments
we encounter on the roads and control our physical arousal (rage) by any means necessary.
Dr. James and Dr. Nahl mention the solution to this problem;
“Life long driver education.” This type of training would teach us and our
future drivers to tolerate our frustrations toward other drivers without those
sneaky hostile or vengeful feelings. It could instill positive thinking instead
of negative and reinforce better behaviors in other drivers as well, for
example; by the mere act of modeling what they witness. If we let a driver merge
into traffic as a kind gesture, the higher likelihood they will also do the
same for someone else causing a safer and more satisfying journey.
What also teaches drivers how to self monitor their emotions
is the three-step program, or what the authors like to call “developing
emotional literacy” (page 38). This type of training also sets the foundation
for people to analyze their own patterns of thinking and emotions, thus
enabling them to achieve self-control over their own negative emotions and transform
them into positive feelings.
There are three levels of emotional intelligence. Level one
is oppositional driving, which is the
lowest level because of the feelings of negativity and illogical thought
patterns that accompany negativity. Level two is defensive driving. This level is about the safety of other people
on the road, but this level also includes suspicion towards other drivers on
the roads, leaving us highly guarded. It also includes the negative mentality
towards other drivers (my level). Level
three is supportive driving and is the optimistic approach to
driving. It is at this level where a person decreases antisocial statements (to
blame, punish or retaliate) with prosocial statements (positive statements).
Topic 5: Objective Self-Assessment for Drivers (Chapter 6, pages
133-144)
Before anyone can become a supportive driver, the first step
and possibly the most difficult, is that they must first acknowledge that they need to educate themselves with their types
of traffic emotions. After understanding the type of road rage or aggressive
tendencies one does possess, they must witness
their own behaviors by self-assessing their mental thoughts and feelings to
specify the type and degree of these tendencies. Lastly, they must modify these negative behaviors and this
way of thinking.
Topic 6: Road Rage Nursery (Chapter 7, pages 151-153)
Supportive driving can also reflect upon our children who
witness and model what they are exposed to. If we model positive emotions and
have empathy toward other drivers on the roads, children will learn this. But
if we generate hostility within our children by being poor examples while
behind the wheel, then road rage issues will remain a constant battle for our
society.
Parents and caretakers need to establish ground rules for
children while in the vehicle. They should positively reinforce children with
praises or treats and they should model constructive behaviors. I know that when
I have children, I do not want them to become a statistic of road rage and I am
sure that many parents would have the same opinion.
Topic 7: Benefits of Supportive Driving (Chapter 8, pages 167-170)
We must acknowledge the value that comes with supportive
driving, since there is a large diversity of drivers that come from all over
the world (especially in
Supportive driving helps us adapt to other people as well as
accommodate them in a pleasant manner. For example, visiting new cities is
exciting, but if you have ever driven in a city you were not familiar with,
such as
The primary benefit of supportive driving is that we can
breed new generations with higher emotional intelligence and make our society
and roadways amiable and less prejudicial.
Topic 8: Teenagers at Risk (Chapter 9, pages 190-193)
The highest incident rates of fatalities are among those who
are the youngest, ages fifteen to twenty. This age group takes more risks,
perhaps due to peer pressure or not wanting to look like a fool in front of
their friends. I’m sure we’ve had friends who loved to mention whenever someone
cut you off on the freeway, the type of friend who wanted to see if you’d react
the way they would had they been driving. More importantly, teenagers are less
experienced than older drivers are when it comes to emergencies, dealing with
passengers who may be rowdy or belligerent and tend to lack emotional control
when faced with a provoking incident on the road.
Why do the young teenagers have the highest fatality rates
and usually have a higher rate on car insurance? Perhaps because the graduating
licensing approach and regular driver education is not as effective as it
should be. Even after the teenager receives his or her full licensing, who
knows if he or she has already picked up hostile driving habits from the media,
movies, parents, relatives, caregivers or friends? This is why life long driver
education and the proposed K-12 driving curriculum for affective, cognitive and
sensorimotor training are imperative.
The K-12 driving curriculum is age appropriate for the normal
development of children and teenagers. It first consists of teaching elementary
school aged children affective skills such as becoming aware of their feelings
when in public places. The second step is training middle school aged children
cognitive skills such as developing positive thoughts or judgments for other
people. The last step is for high school aged teenagers that teaches them
sensorimotor skills such as training them how to multitask or handle driving
emergencies when they are faced with an emotionally challenging event.
Topic 9: Post Licensing: The QDC Approach (Chapter 9, pages
199-202)
It is not only the young
who need training, but adult drivers also need effective training as well.
Quality Driving Circles (QDCs) are inexpensive and voluntary for people who
want to contribute to a safer driving society. It consists of
Part Three: The Future of Driving
Topic 10: Aggressive Driving Bills (Chapter 10, pages 228-231)
In conclusion of all these topics, I
had to add the aggressive driving bills. Although these laws vary from state to
state, they all are helpful in detecting road rage behaviors. My favorite is the
tailgating offense. Personally, I do not like it when someone tailgates me,
especially when I am not in the fast lane. There is also the bill that enables
law enforcement to ticket those who are going too slow in the fast lane and do
not move out of the way, sort of passive-aggressive behavior. These are just a
couple examples that are considered violations because they are observable
behaviors. I just wish these laws were in effect during my incident in 1993.
These topics progressed with each topic and were subsequently
in order. The reason I was interested in the chosen topics was that I believe
our culture; our way of life has boiled down to disrespect and letting out our
frustrations on to other drivers on the roads. The main reason I was very
interested was because of all of my experiences with road ragers’, because I was involved with one myself. As I mentioned
earlier, I could have easily become a statistic.
This book should be given or bought for those you care about;
particularly for those you know who do have aggressive tendencies while
driving. I recommend parents, teachers, relatives, caregivers and friends
alike. And if you know a teenager who is in the stages of learning how to
drive, I highly suggest this book. Why? Because this book could save their
life; in fact, it could save many lives, perhaps even your own.
This
is why the message in this book is crucial for society and psychology today. The
book’s importance is that road rage should be one of our major concerns. Mainly
because as a society, we are paying for the consequences of this epidemic; by the
physical loss of a loved one due to a road rage incident and for the expenses incurred
by what it costs our society from injuries and fatalities to environmental air
pollution.
Moreover,
we should understand the harmful effects to our physical and mental health,
both of which are invaluable. Do we want to live with road rage related
injuries or with the mental anguish of losing someone we love from road rage? From
a psychological standpoint, this is why the topics listed above, such as
understanding why driving arouses anger or the benefits of supportive driving
should be understood and appreciated.
We
could avoid all these negative consequences by being self-conscious of our own
actions when driving. There are lessons to be learned such as training to be a
supportive driver, trying to become involved in QDCs and becoming a
constructive and positive role model for the young who will also someday become
drivers.
As
a society, we must take responsibility for our own actions. This epidemic will
not go away if we do nothing about it, so it is up to us to make changes for
the better. We must learn how to become emotionally intelligent to make our roadways
safer and less fearful, but we cannot do it if we do not educate and prepare
ourselves.
This
book would definitely fit in along with developmental psychology and theories
of personality psychology because it specifies the development of young
children as they age and the different types of driving personalities people
have. In actuality, Dr. James and Dr. Nahl’s book covers many areas, from
emotions to cognitive and learning aspects of a person’s psyche.
The
book is divided into three major parts. Part One; The conflict mentality has many different types of exercises that can
help a person realize what type of driver they are. In chapter one, the
checklist called Your Road Rage Tendency
(pages40-41) specifies the amount of road rage you have according to how many
answers you checked for yes. I scored 6, which means I have moderate road rage
habits.
Chapter
two has a checklist that makes a person aware of their Aggressive Thoughts and Feelings (pages 65-66). I scored 3/12 (25
percent) on fantasies of retaliation and
revenge, 1/7 (14 percent) on high-pressure
driving and competition and the highest of 5/8 (62 percent) on impulsive and reckless driving. I never
really put much thought into how impulsive and reckless I am when I drive, like
how listening to loud and fast music makes me feel free or driving when
fatigued and tired. This was a revelation for me.
Chapter
three has a checklist called Your
What
I learned from the checklists in chapter four is that I do have extremely high verbal road rage tendencies (pg 91) of 75 percent and fall into the
category of being a rushing maniac (pg 102) of 50 percent. This means I must
learn how to stop viewing other drivers as the source of slowing me down when I
feel rushed and to use my time wisely and leave early for my destinations.
Among
all of the checklists and exercises in parts one and two, there are also tables
that were very interesting. For example, table 2.1 on page 48 is a list of
behaviors that compares beliefs of people throughout the
Also
useful and interesting were the end notes and index, which were very easy to
use for further referencing. I think that this book had great titles that
pertained to what the chapter and topic was all about. Furthermore, the layout
was understandable and coincided with the preceding chapters and the print was
not small so it was easy to read.
What
I really enjoyed about the book were the exercises and checklists about my type
of driving behaviors (chapters 1 through 9) and what I learned from them.
However, the main aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was the emphasis on
compassion. Compassion for other drivers and compassion for strangers. I think
that if we all learned compassion for everyone, not only our driving culture
would be drastically changed for the better but our society, our world would
benefit.
One
passage I found worthwhile to mention is the topic of The Expanding Age of Rage (pg 32).
Rage
is spreading! Many headlines proclaim:
·
Parking lot rage
·
Sidewalk rage
·
Surf rage
·
Air rage
·
Neighbor rage
·
Shopping mall rage
·
Workplace rage
·
Cafeteria rage
·
Customer rage
·
Keyboard rage
·
Desk rage
When
I first read this section, I had to giggle because of the flashbacks I had from
personally witnessing almost all of these types of rage. I liked this section
because I believe that I could also add to the list, such as laundry day rage
or passive-aggressive roommate rage. Both of which I experience first hand, usually
on a monthly basis.
I
believe that treating other people the way we would like to be treated is
important, not only when it comes to driving, but in all aspects of life. Another
passage I found worth mentioning describes this notion.
“Being
a friendly driver is contagious. When you’re nice to others, they’re nice to
someone else and it spreads. Seeing the lighter side of incidents accentuates
the positive and neutralizes the negative. Driving incidents become
opportunities for minirelationships lasting seconds when friendly rituals such
as making room, giving way, waiting, getting out of the way, signaling ahead,
maintaining safe following distance, and courtesy waving or smiling thanks
become a source of personal satisfaction, security, and community pride.” (page
119)
What
I appreciate from this book is that I realized that I could be hazardous to
other people on the road because I do drive when I’m exhausted as well as play
the music as loud as I can tolerate. I’m no better than those who do actually
take their frustrations out on other drivers. Another important thing I’ve
learned is that I should not drive when I’m frustrated or in a bad mood,
because I’ve realized that I could easily become a road rage aggressor when in
I’m in this type of mood. So now, I just stay home, park somewhere if I am
driving or make my passenger drive until I am no longer upset or frustrated. Or, if it is my passenger that is aggravating me, I just
pull off onto the shoulder of the freeway or side of the road until I cool
down. Try it, it works.
One
strength of this book is that it explains the reasons as to why road rage is a
major problem. It explains how the media, television and movies influence our
culture in a bad way and how this affects our acceptance of aggressiveness.
Another strength is that it defines the causes of road rage, such as congestion
or the lack of emotional intelligence and the book clearly illustrates how
anyone can overcome their aggressive road rage tendencies.
The
only weakness I can think of is that not everyone is willing to acknowledge
whether or not they are aggressive drivers. I mean those whom are willing to
accept and take responsibility for their driving behaviors are those who are usually
caring, supportive and are eager to be safe drivers for the sake of other
people as well as for their own sake.
Furthermore,
we can all partake into learning to become a supportive driver or learn emotional
intelligence, but what about those who are ignorant or too arrogant and do not
care about what this epidemic is doing to our society? Perhaps this is not a
weakness but another strength because those who are reluctant to change their
behaviors can be counter balanced by those who are enthusiastic to change. Therefore,
it is up to us to save our driving society and make the roads a safer place.
There
were many great articles found on the web about this topic, but one I found and
particularly liked gives the definition between road rage and aggressive
driving. Click here for article from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
A
great abstract on this book was found from a website called The Traffic Safety
Village at Drivers.com. Click here for the abstract from Aggressive Driving Issues Conference.
If
neither of the above interests you, try this other informative web link for further articles pertaining to
aggressive driving and road rage issues.
While
you’re at it, be sure to check out DrDriving.org.
Another
interesting article found on the web asks if you think you are
a dangerous driver and 10 ways to tell. Read the article to find out if you are
a dangerous driver.
Back to My Home Page || To Dr. Leon James Homepage || To DrDriving.org