News, Issues, and Advice on Road Rage

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This site advocates three methods of dealing with aggressive drivers such as: Quality Driving Circles (QDCs), New Driver's Ed., and CARR (Children Against Road Rage). The supporter and the person responsible for this site is Dr. Leon James of the University of Hawaii. His testimony is very convincing because shortly after you read it, you will understand the reason why he's advocating the three methods for dealing with aggressive driving. He brings forth so many facts about the symptoms of road rage, statistics, components of aggressive driving -- just to name a few. It's very important that we know more facts about road rage so that we'll appreciate the works done by people, like Dr. James, more. They're not only doing this research for their own good but for everybody else's safety on the road. If it's important for them to get the word out, then it should also be important for us to understand what he's fighting for.
I really believe that this testimony about road rage is very effective because everything that he's proposing has facts that go along with it. He backs it up with so much information and numbers and not only that, he really believes that they're going to work. The methods and the approach that he's proposing for dealing with aggressive drivers are: Quality Driving Circles, New Driver's Ed. (which should start from Kindergarten to 12th grade), and an organization called Children Against Road Rage. These three methods fit in the overall scheme of things in the traffic safety world because as Dr. James said, "Because aggressive driving is a cultural trait, we need to apply social cultural techniques to alter the negative cultural norm of hostility and competition on highway." If I'm not mistaken, Dr. James believes that instead of helping people individually, he feels that people should get together and work with each other for the good of all mankind.

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Steering Clear of Road Rage

This featured article advocates the point of view of bus drivers and procedures on how to avoid road wars. The supporters of this page are obviously bus drivers and concerned citizens especially the parents of children whose lives are at stake when a road rager decides to harrass the bus driver or the children themselves. This is a very convincing article especially that they give you tips on how to avoid confrontations on the road and real stories of bus drivers' experience of road rage. It's very important that we learn how to defuse road rage when we know that we're about to lose our self-control and temperament. It's also very important that people know how bus drivers really feel when they become the target of road rage and for the road ragers to understand that school buses transport children to & from school. The road ragers should understand that bus drivers drive the way they drive because they carry children in their buses and they're just trying to drive carefully for the children's safety.
I believe that what this article is trying to commend is going to be effective because the tips they bring about can work and it's not hard to do as long as one is willing to practice them. The methods and approach that they want bus drivers, and I guess all other drivers on the road to apply when they or we feel like they're or we're going to engage in aggressive driving behavior are as follows:
1) Avoid eye contact

2) Don't cut in front of motorists

3) Allow fellow motorists to "cut in" during a traffic jam

4) Pull over to allow motorists to pass if several cars pile up behind you

5) Don't drive in the fast lane (this advice is especially for school buses)

6) Don't allow your kids to aggravate fellow drivers

7) Don't tailgate -- always maintain a safe distance

8) Use your horn sparingly

9) Give the other driver the benefit of the doubt
These methods fit perfectly in the overal scheme of things in the traffic safety world because they're not only advocating for the safety of the bus driver and children on the bus, but everyone that's on the road.

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SafeAuto -- Road Rage

This site advocates the point of view that "individual driver needs to be aware of his or her own driving practices and especially for those times when stress levels may rise" before he or she can fully understand that drivers "are not necessarily out to ruin his or her day." The supporter of the SafeAuto homepage is the Planthink Concepts, Inc. It's very convincing what the Planthink Concepts Incorporated is introducing to help drivers know when they are driving aggressively or angry. They discovered the SafeAuto which "works by monitoring driver foot positions and activities." I believe that this is going to be an important concept or technique because as the article mentioned, the positioning and activities of the drivers foot are correlated with patterns that may be indicative of driver's anger and road rage as well as other patterns such as alertness. I consider this technique to be effective in determining aggressive driving behavior because it can monitor the foot activity of a person which will indicate whether the driver is becoming angry or not.
The method that they propose is SafeAuto which will be monitoring foot activity that will let people know the following, as mentioned in the article:
1) "Alert the driver when the system determines that driver foot activity that may be indicative of angry driving is taking place."
2) "Drivers will be able to more easily identify vehicles that may present a need for increased awareness."
3) "The driver will be able to see, by way of rear light displays and possible electronic feedback, that other drivers are experiencing difficulty in real-time traffic situations also."
It does fit in the overall scheme of things in the traffic safety world because it provides an approach that is helpful in fighting road ragers. Also, as Mr. Colemere wrote, SafeAuto "may open a possibility for fewer road rage responses which can otherwise lead to deadly consequences."

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Road Rage

This site simply advocates a better way to handle and understand road rage by giving advises coming from psychologists and writers of books that discuss road rage. The supporters, I believe, are people who are concerned with road rage like psychologists, police, and ordinary citizens. The way they talk about things that an individual can do to avoid aggression on the streets are pretty convincing. The things they mentioned are something that everyone can easily develop as a habit like planning to get up early and avoid rush-hour traffic. What they've given as tips are very important because it helps improve one's driving behavior. I really think that they can become effective if people will only take these tips seriously and practice them.
The methods that they want drivers to form as habit are: Plan journeys to avoid rush hours, Make sure your seat is comfortable, the windshield clean, and your radio tuned to a favorite station, And if you storm out of the office or the house in a bad mood, wind down before starting out. Also, this site provides you with the different types of aggressive drivers such as: The speeder, who wants to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible and will become enraged if forced to slow down; The competitor, who sees the speeder coming and decides to race; The passive aggressor, who blocks other drivers and doesn't let them pass or cut in; The narcissist, who takes a dislike to another driver because of race, sex, or type of car; The vigilante, who is going to make a violator of the rules pay. I feel that these methods and informations fit in the overall scheme of things in the traffic safety world because you become aware of the kind of drivers you can expect when you're out on the road and you can improve your attitude towards driving.