When a person becomes angry, hostile or furious while driving on the road, that can be
defined as road rage . You might be saying to yourself, Oh, I'm not that extreme! It doesn't
matter. The slightest variation, no matter how minimal, would still be considered road rage.
Before we can even begin to deal with the problem of road rage, we must first be able to
recognize it (That's the easy part because, many times it is obvious when we or others become
upset. ) When we can recognize the problem, we must then dig within our hearts and minds to
expose the root of our road rage. I strongly believe that two simple qualities are at the core of
road rage: selfishness and pride. To clarify matters, I will give definitions on
both of these words according to The American Heritage Dictionary. Selfishness is
defined as, "concerned chiefly or only with oneself without regard for the well-being of others;
egotistic." Concerning pride, the definition in mind is interpreted as this, " an
excessively high opinion of one s self; conceit." If you really stopped to ponder over this, you d
realize that all road rage stems from one or both of these attributes.
Here are some examples:
Have you ever gotten angry because someone did something as simple as toot their horn at
you? If your answer is yes then you are ultimately dealing not with them, but with your own
pride! How is that so? Let s break it down. Someone toots at you. -----> you become
angry--why?-----> perhaps you took it too personally-----> therefore you became hurt-----> hurt
oftentimes turns into anger (anger because your PRIDE is hurt)-----> you then become defensive.
A tooting horn often indicates a condemnatory action or behavior. Oftentimes, a horn is a
standard meaning for an insult. But a horn can mean a group of things, yes, maybe insult, or
another's impatience, or maybe it's not meant toward you personally, but it's just the driver
informing you about a road situation. Going even a step further-- we as human beings have a
tendency to resist change. In other words, you are not perfect-----> your excessively high
opinion of yourself (pride) is challenged at the sound of a horn. The horn can represent
many things but we often interpret it as an insult. Instead of thinking, "The driver has a
problem with being impatient" we think, "This driver is insulting me." In many ways, this type
of thinking lowers our intelligence because we make wrong attributions.
Have you ever seen someone signaling, trying to cut into your lane, but you speed up
because you don t want to let them in? Why don t you let them in? Selfishness--your
concern only for yourself (i.e. I m running late or a simple too bad! ). Pride can also be a
factor in this one too. Breakdown: You don t let them cut into your lane-- why?-----> perhaps
you are in a rush-----> my time is more important. I have to be there on time, therefore, I can t
let you cut into my lane.-----> indirectly you are saying that the other is not as important as you
are (conceit) to use that particular lane. (Huh? Isn t that stretching it a bit?) No, it isn t bearing
in mind that you BOTH have a right to be on the road, in that particular lane. One person is no
more important or priveleged than the next. Get the point?
Back to the top
Down to the bottom
Report 2 begins with exploring the work of the previous traffic psychology generations.
These past works gave me ideas on how to approach conducting my quality driving circle. The
next section deals with setting up and running a quality driving circle. My theme there is "Be
meek and turn the other cheek!" I chose to focus on zones 4, 5 and 6 (self control issues.) The
final section deals with driving improvement resources on the web. Shown in this section are
some links to pages that may help to improve driving.
Generation
1
In week 9 of her reports,
Joleen Lai gave a great explanation on what it means to be a "good driver". Joleen states:
Well, I feel that a 'good driver' should always put their passengers well-being
into consideration and you the driver, should be extra careful when you have people in the car
with you. The speed of how fast the car is going is irrelevent because there are good drivers who
drives fast and there are slow drivers who drive good, so how would you determine
that?
Further in her report, she writes:
In any case, a 'good driver' characteristic is concerned with their
surroundings and the well-beings of their passengers in the vehicle and who also abides by the
regulations and laws of the state and takes these restrictions into deep
consideration.
Similar to Joleen Lai, Shane
Akagi mentions that "a good driver is one who manages to take responisbility for not only
their own safety on the roads, but also those of others." I think the general idea of their concepts
is that a good driver is always aware of the well being of others. When we are on the road, it is
not only ourselves we are responsible for , we are also responsible for anyone else in the
immediate vicinity, whether it be a passenger or another driver, to a pedestrian crossing the
street. The bottom line is that consequences are attached to every action that we take--whether it
be good consequences or bad consequences.
For me personally, this idea is always something that I'm aware of. First of all, in a
financial sense, it is always in my face. A part of my paycheck is always reserved to pay for car
insurance. If we weren't responsible for others, there would be no need for insurance. Insurance
is a means to insure that one has the resources to take care of the results that may occur
through "bad driving".
More importantly, I hold to this idea because I have a moral responsibility to others. I am
always driving people around. That means, when I drive I am responsible for those with me as
well as others driving on the road or those on the sidewalk. Whenever I have others in my car,
their safety is second to none. Playing "car games" that may jeopardize safety is not even an
option for me. Often times if I am tempted, I think of the drastic consequences that could occur.
Then the temptation quickly dissipates.. Another thought that helps me (mostly in dealing with
"strangers") on the road, is to envision that each individual is "somebody's child" or "somebody's
husband or wife, sister or brother". Although I don't know the person, it helps me to personalize
them.
Generation
2
Regarding the topic of convoys, Sheldon
Tawatawrote in response to two students from generation 1:
Kendall and Todd have great outlooks for convoys on the streets. They seem to feel that
everyone on the road should be one happy family. When there is communication, interaction and
harmony, everything will turn out just fine.
I totally agree with this perspective. Harmony occurs as a result of communication and
interaction. Many times, when we don't communicate, we make up scenarios in our little minds
as to what the other is thinking. In doing this thinking, we don't give our fellow human being
the benefit of the doubt. We assume that they are out to get us. Most people innately have a
tendency to be self-focused and always think only of themselves. When we are self-focused, we
are unconsciously thinking that the world revolves around us. Therefore, when we feel that
someone wrongs us on the road, we take it personally and get upset, not taking into account that
perhaps the other drivers don't even realize that they upset you.
In response to Jae Isa's report in generation 1, Berna
Collado writes:
Although I have felt many times "pressured" to speed by cars rushing closely behind me, I don't
feel as if it's a problem that I hold them up. I admit that I have increased my speed due to cars
behind me before, but I try not to do it due to the fact that I don't like to feel rushed. I can't relate
to her feeling of being rude to others by not speeding. I don't feel rude if I drive at a regular pace,
and if I did, so what? Although a person may make a weird face at me for driving slower than
them, it doesn't necessarily mean that they think I'm rude, and once again, if they did, so what? I
would never know unless that person stopped their car, made me stop my car (of which I'm sure
nobody would stop while speeding), and told me directly. When I am the one speeding, and I
pass by a slower driver, I don't think of that person as rude.
Berna Collado is an example of one who displays a healthy driving attitude. She broadens
her mind concerning other drivers. She writes, "Although a person may make a weird face at me
for driving slower than them, it doesn't necessarily mean that they think I'm rude,...I would never
know unless that person stopped their car, made me stop my car...and told me directly." She
gives room to the fact that other people have lives too. They go through many things in one day.
Perhaps the other driver is having a thought about something else (that has nothing to do with the
moment) that happened earlier in the day. Berna later says ( in response if someone else thought
she was rude), "...and if they did, so what?"
This is a great attitude to have, and I totally agree with the "so what?". I believe that part of
the reason that individuals have anxiety on the road is because of their people pleasing
tendencies. Not only true on the road, but in life as well. When one's tendency is to always
want to please people all the time, one becomes a slave to it. It is not inherently wrong to want
to please people, but when one's convictions are compromised or when one's happiness depends
on it, that's when trouble begins, because as the saying goes, "You can't please everyone".
Therefore if one is a people pleaser, that individual is probably miserable most of the time. Also,
having a people pleasing attitude does not leave room for openness and communication. Instead
of confronting the situation, the individual will just "stuff it in" and not say anything for fear of
offending someone. Eventually, the people pleaser would become a bitter individual and there
would be no harmony (remember the earlier quote in Sheldon Tawata's report that, "When there
is communication, interaction and harmony, everything will turn out just fine.").
Back to the top
Down to the bottom
Generation 3
Sherman
Lee makes a great attempt to extinguish negative driving behavior. His process is :
(1) Have them identify their negative behavior. (2) Give them reasons why they should change
it. (3) Give them a method for changing. (4) Execute the plan. (5) Modify the plan if
necessary.
This is a great plan. If someone can identify their negative behavior, that is the first step in
changing. Knowing is not half the battle. Admitting it is half the battle. I like the fact that
Sherman gives room for modifying his plan, since each individual is different.
Con
rad Moreno says regarding overcoming denial:
.....It can be easily overcome. The first step to accomplishing this is to observe your overt
behavior while on the road. The second step is to be openly aware of your thoughts and feelings
behind your behavior.
Both Sherman Lee and Conrad Moreno recognize that the way to overcome negative driving
habits is to become aware of it. Recognizing your shortcomings is the first step in changing.
Chart of Nine Zones)
Ross Takara makes a great point when he says there is no "I" in
"team". If asked the question, "Why should I have a driving personality make-over?" I could
simply tell them what Ross Says:
Imagine how the highway would be like if everyone did a driving personality
makeover and succeeded in reforming their faults. I imagine the driving experience
would be much more enjoyable, practically stress-free, and much safer for all. Such
behaviors as speeding, tailgating, changing lanes without signaling, and aggressive
driving are very hazardous to the well-being of the driver and other drivers also. If
such behaviors could be eliminated or at least minimized, there would be a drastic
decline in the amount of accidents on the highway. Increasing awareness of one's
If we could present change where the driver will benefit, then perhaps people will listen.
Generation
4
Cherilyn
Okazaki applies traffic psychology to others in her report 3. She analyzes speeding by
Soloman Valdez:
The sensorimotor domain is the fact that he stepped on the gas pedal with a heavy
foot. Analyzing this more, again this is an example of a negative affective leading to
a negative cognitive leading to an unfortunate negative sensorimotor. To try and
work on this even deeper, we will find changes that will change his negatives into
positives. A positive cognitive would be thinking that in order to avoid rushing, he
could actually get ready earlier. As a postive affective he would not be feeling
impatient instead he would feel calm and considerate. The result? A lighter foot on
the gas pedal!!!!
She analyzes the affective, cognitive and sensorimotor aspects. By doing this she gives examples
of how we can become aware of why we do things the way we do. She attempts to get to the
root of why an individual might speed.
Canaan
Machida talks about tailgating and the warrior mentality. Concerning tailgating, he states:
As Dr. James discussed, tailgating is a skill that has to be practiced to master fully. While
practicing for the first time, the driver already has a feeling of confidence, perhaps even
arrogance in their driving skills. When the driver begins to tailgate, maybe even by mistake
during his first time, if the driver gets away with it without suffering any negative consequences,
that driver will do it again. Because no punishment or negative reinforcement is associated with
the tailgating behavior, that tailgater will continue to behave that way. This tailgater is
cognitively aware of their actions while tailgating yet does not alter their behaviors. Not only
does this infringe on the rights of other drivers, it shows the lack of ethics and morals within that
tailgater.
What Canaan is saying is that we learn to be a certain way. If no disciplinary action is taken
against tailgaters, they will continue tailgating. They are being reinforced that it's okay to
tailgate. The rest of us are responsible for allowing tailgaters to continue in their actions. My
personal opinion-- don't blame the tailgater, blame society for allowing them to persist in this
behavior.
Back to the top
Down to the bottom
The philosophy I chose to focus on for my quality driving circle, was "be meek and turn the
other cheek". When you first think of the word "meek", often words such as "timid", "weak" or
"shy" come to mind. Quite the contrary. The Greek meaning used for the word "meek" was
once used to describe a strong stallion after he had become broken. The stallion was now in a
position to be trained and disciplined. In this way, he wasn't weak, just able to be controlled.
Therefore, to be meek is to be humble and self controlled. Achieving the quality of meekness
can then enable an individual to "turn the other cheek" (if you are unfamiliar with the phrase
"turn the other cheek", this link leads to an explanation as to the
meaning). With these thoughts in mind, I chose to focus on "self control" issues (zone 4, 5, 6) of the chart of nine zones.
For my driving circle, I asked three individuals if they would be my "guinea pigs". Guinea
pig 1--"Darci", a 25 year old married woman. She is attending the University of Hawaii. Guinea
pig 2--"Kate", a 27 year old woman. She teaches at a program for people with disabilities.
Guinea pig 3--"Cheri", a 23 year old woman. She works at a retail store. At first, I was clueless
as to how to lead the group sessions. I decided that each session wouldn't necessarily have a
plan, since I wouldn't know the needs of each person until we started talking. Each time we
gathered together, I just had it be like a rap session (in the same fashion as our class
meetings).
Highlights of Meeting 1
The first meeting was a rather casual, short one. I gave them each a sheet with the
following instructions:
In the next two days please observe yourself (self-witnessing) while on the road and in
traffic.
Some things to think about while driving:
1. Do you follow the speed limit?
2. How closely do you follow the car in front of you? --Do you tailgate?
3. Etiquette in traffic
--Are you a courteous driver?
--If someone wants to switch to your lane, do you let them in graciously, do you just say to
yourself "tough it!"? (or do you let them in, but begrudgingly?)
4. What sets you off on the road?
--What upset you?
--What were the events that led you to become angry?
5. After being upset, how did you calm yourself down?
--Techniques used.
I was able to ride with Kate one day. She drove us from Honolulu to Kaneohe via Pali
Highway. At one point she was in the left lane. She noticed that a car behind her was following
too close for comfort behind her. She then signalled and when it was safe, she switched over to
the right. I then asked her why she did that. She replied, "the car was following too close
behind me. I wanted to maintain my speed so I switched over to the next lane. I didn't want to
speed up. Partly because I am not familiar with this area." I felt that she exhibited a pretty
healthy driving habit. I also noticed that she most always followed the speed limit.
Highlights of Meeting 2
I asked the women in my driving circle to mentally reflect how they had been driving. I
then asked them to answer a questionnaire made up of 16
questions. The questionnaire was a verbal one. I asked them to take out a sheet of paper and
write down the letters A, B, C, D. Aside from saving paper, I thought it would be more of an
interacting time if I asked them the questions out loud and had them write their answers on the
paper. A= strongly agree, B= strongly disagree, C= agree somewhat, D= disagree somewhat.
(Note: although C and D technically mean the same thing, I put it in to perhaps get a glimpse of
each woman's character. For example, if they answered D (disagree somewhat) they may (not
always though) tend to be in denial. To say C (agree somewhat) would be saying that at least
they know their attitude and acknowledge it.
My questionnaire dealt with zones 4, 5 and 6 of Dr. Driving's Chart of Nine Zones. These
fell in the category of Phase II, Self Control Issues. The way that I made up the questionnaire
was to look at the sample questions in each zone. I then made up my own questions from both
the negative and positive sides using Dr. Driving's questions as a guideline. For example in zone
5, one of the statements says, "__Making up prejudiced, unfounded or presumptuous
explanations for others' driving behavior." Based on that, I came up with question 6 which says,
"Someone makes a move in traffic that irritates you. You look at the driver and dismiss their
"stupidity" due to their gender, age or race etc." Questions 1-5 dealt with zone 4, domain--
feelings, name--emotional control. Questions 6-10 dealt with zone 5, domain--thoughts, name--
judgment. Questions 11-16 dealt with zone 6, domain--actions, name--calmness.
I found that: Cheri, Darcy and Kate had similar answers for most of the questions. Kate
exhibited the least amount of road rage, while Darcy was the most extreme. Darcy was always
outspoken when it came to how she felt. It's funny how both Kate's and Cheri's attitudes are very
different from Darcy's attitude, Kate and Cheri being more quiet and passive and Darcy being
totally outspoken. However, many of their answers were similar to Darcy. My only explanation
is that each of them had the same kind of "garden" in their hearts. It's just that Darcy's garden
contained weeds that were fully grown while Cheri and Kate's garden of weeds were just baby
ones.(For explanation of the meaning of the garden, look at highlights of meeting 3.)
We discussed the questions. The most talked about question (because it seemed so out of
place) was question 10--"You're driving on the road and suddenly decide to dig your nose since
you don't think that anyone can see you." The funny thing is that all of them answered A--
strongly agree. I had two reasons for admitting this question to the questionnaire. The first was
this: based on their answers, I reasoned that they were honest about ALL of the questions, since
if they could admit to this, then why would they lie about the rest of the questions? The second
reason was that this question fell into the zone 5 category of the chart of nine zones. One of Dr.
Driving's statements was,"__Thinking that you are isolated in your car and that no one can see
you." Well obviously if you are picking your nose, you are most likely assuming that you are
isolated and that no one can see you!
Back to the top
Down to the bottom
Highlights of Meeting 3
I began the session by explaining in detail what traffic psychology was all about. I defined
road rage and gave some examples of road rage. I assured them that although I considered
myself not so much a leader, but a facilitator. We were all going to learn together how to modify
bad driving habits. The initial responses were that they didn't really care. When I explained
(Like in the introduction) how each of us has a right to be on the road
and that no one should feel any more special or privileged than the next person, Cheri responded,
"I never thought of it that way. But I still don't care." It simply didn't keep her interest.
I tried to present traffic psychology in a different way. I, myself am a very visual person by
nature. Ususally I think of difficult concepts through pictures or analogies. I said, "I believe our
hearts and minds are like a garden, with little seeds planted within us (i.e. seeds of love,
kindness, gratitude, or pride, selfishness, anger, bitterness etc.) Throughout our lives, these seeds
will grow. Life's experiences are like water. Each time the seeds are watered they grow. Some
seeds, when watered, will grow to be beautiful flowers, while others are ugly weeds. If there is
an overwhelming amount of weeds, they will eventually choke the flowers, causing it to
suffocate and eventually die. If the weeds are allowed to continue to grow, its roots get deeper
and deeper into the ground. It eventually gets harder to dig or pull out. Some weeds eventually
become big trees if not dealt with early on. The idea that I wanted to help them with is that I
think they'd be much happier with a garden full of flowers as opposed to weeds. I approached it
from an angle of wanting them to be happier in life, instead of always trying to correct them. I
pointed out that being a slave to your emotions, anger, selfishness, bitterness or pride doesn't
make us happy or healthy. I also explained that the "self" is like a hungry empty stomach. "Self"
can never be filled. It will always be hungry and will always want more. The more you feed it,
the hungrier it gets and the more you need to keep feeding it. Therefore, unless we can learn to
be self controlled we will never be truly happy (notice the "self"is in the word "selfish".) This
thought can be paralleled with Dr. Driving's idea of "Slaying your dragons". Only my motto
would be, "Pull out your weeds!"
During another discussion, Darcy commented, "I don't know. Sometimes I like to be angry
and mentally torture the other drivers. It gives me a feeling of happiness and satisfaction." I told
her what I thought:"to be happy being angry is logically impossible. The whole reason you are
angry is because you are NOT happy. So it doesn't make sense for you to be happy with rage.
Saying you're happy is just an excuse for not dealing with the real issue of taking a look at
yourself. By saying you're angry, you are trying to justify your behavior. I asked her how she
felt about her behavior. She said that in hindsight, she feels guilty about it. But at the time, she
doesn't care because she is so consumed by her anger that she can't even see straight.
I didn't want to end our final discussion without first giving them some practicals on how to
reduce road rage. I left them with six practicals:
- 1. Whenever you are tempted to get upset, think of all the times you've made mistakes on
the road, where others could've been equally upset with you.
- 2. When someone seems to do something that seems rude, try not to take it personally. Try
and think that maybe it was an accident or they didn't mean to do it.
- 3. If you tend to always be in a rush, leave a few minutes earlier, so you won't be in such a
hurry, and then you won't be impatient with others.
- 4. Listen to soothing music on the road. Music has an uncanny way of altering your mood.
(Some of my personal favorites to listen to on the road are Enya, David Lanz, Yanni, Vince
Guaraldi) These help to put me in a mellow, happy mood.
- 5. Kindness breeds kindness, patience breeds patience, compassion breeds compassion. On
the same token, impatience breeds impatience, and rage breeds rage.
- 6. The bottom line is this: Treat people the way you wish to be treated!
I told them to meditate on these practicals. When this becomes a part of the mentality,
humility and meekness will slowly develop. Then we can be equipped to "turn the other cheek."
Many say that the opposite of love is hate. I disagree. I believe the opposite of love is apathy
and indifference. One problem I faced in the beginning was that members of my group appeared
to be apathetic at first. What hope is there if someone just simply doesn't care? After thinking
about the issue, I made sense of things in a different light. Sometimes it is hard for people to
care about others. However, almost everyone cares about themselves. With that in mind, I
repeatedly stressed the benefits of a "flower garden" and to learn to "turn the other cheek"
would ultimately be more satisfying in the long run. Retaliation would no longer be a desire. By
caring for yourself by learning to be mellow and self controlled, others around you will
indirectly benefit as well!
I realize that I can't force the women in my quality driving circle to change. However, now
at least their eyes are opened and ignorance is no longer an excuse. As long as they are aware
that they are subjected to road rage, there is hope that they can change. When I called Darcy (the
most angry of the three) the other day just to chit chat, out of the blue she said, "I notice that now
I'm more conscious of my driving. Like I noticed the other day that I was driving fast even
though I wasn't in a hurry." You cannot imagine how happy I felt when she said this to me. The
sessions were probably more impacting than I realized. Perhaps the strong brick wall attitude she
had would now slowly begin to crumble!
The concept of creating Quality Driving Circles throughout society will definitely be a
new and interesting thing as we approach the 21st century. To ask "What suggestions do you
have for spreading the QDCs throughout our society?" seems to be a difficult question. People
have become so apathetic and indifferent. How could you force someone to participate unless
there are monetary rewards or something to their advantage? (Although there are other ways
they could benefit, it's not necessarily the kind they're in search of). Volunteerism is only at a
person's convenience. We are only as sacrificial as we allow ourselves to be. Many times we are
limited by our own selfishness. Perhaps if we educated and instilled values at an early age,
things don't seem so hopeless. One solution could be to start educating children from
kindergarten. Let the seeds in the garden be nurtured at an early age so that they can grow
beautiful flowers. Then children could be taught to care about others. (In my links section
further in the report there is a site CSAA Kids designed to teach kids at an early age). In that
sense, instead of conducting Quality DRIVING Circles, we could have Quality CARING Circles,
where rap sessions would not only focus on driving but all other areas of life too.
The sessions would be not so much a formal meeting, but a friendly gathering on what we
did to exhibit kindness and care for each other. If someone had a "bad" week, then the others
could just support and encourage the person and help them see different perspectives of that
situation. (The encouragement would help water and revive the drooping flower instead of
killing it.) There wouldn't be any leaders, just facilitators. This may help illiminate any
tendencies to be intimidated.
Regarding chronic offenders, I don't think we should so much focus on them, but our
own responses toward the chronic offenders. If we get upset and demand "justice" or
"retaliation" we subject ourselves to their intelligence level. Chronic offenders are only fueled
by our responses to them. Therefore, we allow them to continue to be chronic offenders. That is
why I say that we should focus on our responses to the chronic offenders. The punishment for
them is apparent. Each time they are filled with rage--that is their punishment and own personal
"hell". Imagine too, if you never retaliated at their rage-- that is more so, "hell"! My suggestion
is to just let the chronic offender be. If you force them to change, there will be even more
resistance. (Again, don't worry about them, just worry about yourself and how you can continue
to change.) In due time they will change if they are surrounded by great examples of kindness
and patience. They will change because they will see that their actions are not desirable to the
rest of society.
My Advice To Future Generations
The Golden rule: DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!
When you conduct your driving circle, be more of a listening friend than a "leader". Admit
your own weaknesses and tendencies while driving. This will help others to open up (openness
breeds openness). Remember never to act shocked or have a condemning attitude when someone
is open about how they are feeling no matter how badly it seems. Although their feelings may
not be justified, they are real. At least they are being open and honest. If you feel your sessions
are "useless" and in vain, don't lose heart. Know that at the very least you've planted
seeds in peoples' minds!
Back to the top
Down to the bottom
Driving Improvement Resources On The Web:
PLEASE!...Help Yourself!
Listed here are ten links that either give statistics on bad habits on the road or help promote
responsible driving. Help yourself in helping yourelf. Perhaps by reviewing some of these
sights, you will become more aware of safe, responsible driving.
DrDriving.org--Driving
psychology articles, surveys, tests, news, facts, references, and more.
MOCK CRASH: Outline
For A Prom/ Grad Mock Accident--Here is a site with instructions on how to create a mock
crash. I like this because it shows high school students the potential consequences of drinking
and driving.
CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF
TRAFFIC SAFETY: Speeding--Here are some sobering facts about speeding. For
example, health care costs of speed related crashes is $1.96 billion per year. This averages out to
be $774 per second.
CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF
TRAFFIC SAFETY: Safety Seatbelts--Wearing a seatbelt can make a huge difference in a
life or death situation. Provided here are some statistics dealing with the issues of seatbelts. For
example, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, using a child car seat
correctly can reduce the risk of death and injuries from crashes up to 70 percent!
THE AAA FOUNDATION FOR TRAFFIC
SAFETY--This home page is designed to provide traffic safety information. There is also a
link that takes you to a page to order brochures and videos to teach traffic safety.
"ROAD RAGE" ON THE
RISE, AAA FOUNDATION REPORTS--Here is an aggressive driving news release
analyzing a study sponsored by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The AAA Foundation
for Traffic Safety advises drivers to be on the look out for potentially dangerous situations and
gives tips on how to avoid those situations.
DRIVERS 55 PLUS: Self
Rating Form--Here is a cool quiz made up of 15 questions. The purpose of this quiz is to
help people to become responsible for their own driving skills. It is also designed to help
individuals become self examiners.
CSAA KIDS--The California State
Automobile Association designed a site for kids. "The Otto Club" as it is called teaches kids
(kindergarten to third grade) in a fun way, about traffic safety.
TRAFFIC INSTITUTE--This
institute was established at Northwestern University in 1936. The institue has conducted more
than 6500 courses and taught more than 200,000 students. Links on this page contain a table of
contents of issues and establishments of the Traffic Institute.
TRAFFIC SAFETY INFORMATION
VILLAGE--Located on this page is a link to road rage and other automobile related issues.
Other sites, worldwide are listed here concerning driving and traffic.
WHEN THE PARTY'S
OVER--Here are some suggestions to help a friend who has been drinking. There is also a
section on what to do when confronted with a drunk driver. There are some tips on how to
recognize a drunk driver.
Bac
k to my home page
Go to
REPORT 1