Presentation 1

By Mark Corpuz

Chapter 2:  Aggressive Driving and Mental Health

Reference:  Road Rage and Aggressive Driving By Dr. Leon James & Dr. Diane Nahl

Instructions Click Here

• Drivers Behaving Badly on TV p. 48

• Concept:  What we see on TV influences our behavior.  This is the reason why road rage has worsened since the 1970’s.  More people are watching TV now days and the material on TV has become more violent.

• Example:  “The Simpsons” where Homer is late for work and speeds almost hitting pedestrians.  He doesn’t slow down and chases the pedestrian and yells at the pedestrian for being in the way.

• Example:  “The Fast and the Furious” is action packed with racing ideals.  Throughout the movie they are doing something reckless on the road endangering lives of others.

• Cultural:  The reason why road rage has gotten so bad is because it is culturally accepted.  This is reflected through the material we see on TV.  We have no problem watching it, in fact we enjoy it.  A TV show or film is judged by the amount of violence and action there is.

• Psychological:  According to Psychiatrist John Larson, today’s TV teaches impressionable people that “vigilante behavior, even that which harms others, is virtuous, associated with heroic figures, and easy to do”.  P. 49  Because of this the readiness to use violence is a cultural habit.

• Driver’s Education:  Education has to begin before people are able to drive because we start watching TV at a young age.  During that young age is when they are most impressionable.  Everything on TV seems so glamorous and real.  People need to be educated that everything on TV is fabricated and the outcomes of such violence are much worse in reality.

• Players Behaving Badly with Road Rage Video Games p.50

• Concept:  Similar to what we see on TV, what games we play influence our driving habits.  Games are becoming more graphic and intense.

• Example:  “Grand Theft Auto” where you have missions to complete but the fun of it is not the mission; it is what you can do during the mission.  You steal cars, beat people up, speed, run into things, run away from cops, and get away with it.  You can also pick up hookers to increase your life meter, and then beat them up to get your money back.

• Cultural:  Popularity of games is based on how much blood and carnage it contains.  Again, like material on TV, the more blood and carnage the greater the enjoyment for people.  Not only that, these games are made in the interests of older young adult males 18-24 years old.  This is the age group with the highest number of traffic fatalities.  P. 50

• Psychological:  Playing these games repeatedly can weaken inherent inhibitions against doing those acts yourself in real life.  Also, games that have antisocial violence interfere with the way we empathize with others in distress.

• Driver’s Education:  People need to be aware of the effects these games have on others.  They need to know what kind of material are in games.  Parents should know the types of material are in their children’s games because it is when they are young where they are easily impressed with what they see.

• Why Driving Arouses Anger p.52

• Concept:  Anger is closely linked to aggressive behavior.  This section explains how the act of driving causes anger which then leads to aggressive behavior.  This aggressive behavior is then reflected on how people drive.

• Example:  You can be in an okay mood while driving.  But then all of a sudden someone refuses to let you into a lane.  You continually try but they won’t let you.  You then become upset.  So you force your way in.  If you pull in front of that person you let them know how you feel by driving slow or if you pull behind that person you tail the person.  You do all of this not realizing how reckless your driving has become just because someone didn’t let you in.

• Cultural:  Driving is linked to a value of freedom.  We can just jump into our cars and go wherever we want whenever we want.  On the downside there are restrictions and constrictions that prevent us from driving as we wish.  These restrictions and constrictions lead to aggressive driving.  According to Roland Maiuro there are 3 sets of factors that influence aggressive driving:  p. 56

• Socioenvironmental Factors:  population growth & traffic congestion, faulty highway engineering that impedes traffic flow, inadequate regulation of aggressive driving habits, & the anonymity & sense of power many drivers feel sitting behind the smoked glass & bullet shaped armor of the car itself

• Mental Illness Factors:  anger disorders that can be triggered by the pressures of driving

• Cultural Habit Factors:  faulty attitudes, inadequate driving skills, need for education relevant to our challenging & stressful world; symptomatic of society’s growing loss of community, a decay of moral values, &, essentially, a mobile form of rudeness & aggression

• Psychological:  Driving events and incidents produce powerful feelings and irrational thoughts.  Driving is very dramatic and we do it on a daily basis.  Drama comes from high risk, interactivity, and unpredictability.  Being in situations that are predictable creates safety, security, and escape from disaster.  Unfortunately, driving is unpredictable and that creates danger, stress, and crashes.

• Driver’s Education:  People have to learn to control their anger.  They can either learn how to on their own or they can take anger management courses.  But before they can do any of that they need to pass the first step, which is acknowledging the fact they need to control their anger.  

• Gender Effect p.57

• Concept:  Men experience more negative feelings behind the wheel like rage, impatience, danger, violence, and competition while women report positive while driving.  Although, there is a growing number of women engaging in aggressive driving behavior.

• Example:  Table 2.2 p. 58

• making illegal turns MEN

• not signaling lane changes MEN

• following very closely MEN

• Cultural:  Greater aggressiveness of men and the increasing aggressiveness of women are cultural trends reflecting a rise in permissiveness toward expressing anger.  Women’s aggressive driving is attributed to the growth in the number of women in the work place.  So that means more women on the road.  Women also have to make more stops, carting kids to school, sports, lessons, running, errands, shopping, banking, and driving to work.

• Psychological:  Factor linked to road rage is the women who have high level of home responsibility and low level of emotional support for their hard work.  The result is they take their frustration out behind the wheel.

• Driver’s Education:  Men and women need to learn to control their anger.  Women should also learn not to take on so many tasks and the men should learn how to take on some of those tasks and support his wife.

• Driving Impaired p.59

• Concept:  Physical and emotional factors causes impaired driving and that can lead to driving aggressively or driving in rage.  If a person decides to drive under influence of fatigue, a chemical substance, or strong emotion it is considered a form of aggression because that person chose to drive in that condition.

• Example:  Driving under influence of:

• alcohol

• illegal drugs

• OTC drugs

• Prescription Medications

• extreme fatigue or sleep deprivation (driving while drowsy)

• incapacity due to disability, pain, aging, or illness

• Cultural:  At some point people who use illegal or legal drug will get in their cars.  Some know the dangers involved but they still do it anyway.  The result is an estimated amount of 15,000 people die every year in crashes due to drug impaired driving.  Drug impaired driving contributes to road rage, aggressive driving, driving while drowsy, inattention, lack of emotional self control, and excessive risk taking, which then leads to road rage from others.

• Psychological: Emotional impairment factors are more difficult to manage because they often arise suddenly without warning.  Most common emotional impairment factors include: p. 60

• Anger or rage

• Anxiety, fear, or panic

• Depression or suicidal tendency

• Risk addiction

• Habitual self appointed vigilante or road warrior

• Habitual rushing mania or feeling panic or claustrophobic when blocked

• Emotionally challenged behind the wheel

• Habitual disrespect for the law

• Habitual negativity that condones the expression of hostility on highways

• Habitual and automatic denial of won driving mistakes

• These factors characterized by an unwillingness to exercise emotional self control because of fear, fun, vengeance, prejudice, or disrespect.  American Heart Association has linked chronic fight or flight response to damage to heart and coronary arteries, due to receptors of stress hormones in the heart.

• Driver’s Education:  Anger Management workshops would help.  Also, anonymity weakens inhibitions against expressing anger.  That means you are more likely to express yourself if you have tinted windows.  So, if you have no tints people can see you and you’ll have a harder time expressing your anger.

• My Oral Presentation Experience

  • This Oral Presentation for me was nerve wrecking!  That is because I get nervous speaking in front of an audience.  Although, I'm glad the audience I presented for was not that big.  I've done presentations for large lectures before and I would have to say that is much more nerve wrecking because of the amount of people looking at you.  So, I'm glad this class is not that large because it was less stressful.  The class not being so large makes easier too, you feel more comfortable because you somewhat know everyone.  As for the subject matter that I presented on, I would have to say I learned a lot from it.  I learned different concepts, how culture plays a role in driving, how driving affects you psychologically, and how to improve driving skills through driver's education.