Subject: What results are accurate? I'm doing an article on road rage for my school journalism class . I was wondering what information I could use without being wrong. I only want to put accurate info. in my article, so could you tell me what I can include?

Thanks!
Kristien

Sat, 22 May 1999

Ms. C, I only post information that I believe to be accurate. This does not guarantee accuracy. Maybe you need to describe how the data was obtained and by who under what circumstances, when you present results. Then both you and the audience know what's being presented and what claims are being made about their validity.

Good luck on finding these details. That's the beauty, fun, and usefulness of doing research. Congratulations on wanting to do a good job. Now go and do.

DrDriving

Sun, 23 May 1999

Subject: Standard questionnaire?

Dear Leon,

I am a fourth year psychology student at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland. For my dissertation (thesis) I am examining 'road rage'. I have retrieved information from the internet and came across your home page which has helped me tremendously. I was constructing a general questionnaire involving road rage, however, my tutor suggested E-mailing yourself to ask if you had constructed a standard questionnaire on the topic. If your questionnaire is recognized, or even would be beneficial to myself could you please send it to me? I would be very grateful for this information as there hasn’t been a considerable amount of research conducted in the U.K or Scotland concerning road rage. Thank you for your time Dr.Driving!

Leigh

Sun, 23 May 1999

Subject: Study of roadrage.

Dear Sir,

I am at this time about to begin study on my dissertation for a degree in Psy/Soc at the university of Southampton and have chosen to study roadrage (RR) in relation to the music, which is played at the time of incidence. This is due to the fact that as we already know there is a correlation between the type of music which an individual listens to and the emotions that can be invoked.

I would be most grateful if you could forward me any titles that you feel may aid me in this study.

Yours faithfully

A. B (under grad. student - New College, Southampton University)

Mon, 24 May 1999

Subject: Feature article

To whom it may concern

I am writing a freelance feature on the Chicago lakefront bikepath, on which myriad joggers, bladers, bikers, and pedestrians fight for their lives to enjoy themselves. Congestion is the largest problem, and the personalities exhibited identify with those Dr Driving enumerated in his radio interview.

First, I was wondering if you could lead me to any resources that possibly would bolster my argument that Chicago needs wider, safer, more tolerable pathways; and

Second, I would like to quote Dr. Driving's interview; his definitions would add a compelling edge to the article. Would there be a better resource to quote, such as an academic-like text? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Erich J.

Mon, 24 May 1999

Subject: Re: Feature article

Sorry, Mr. B, but I don't have this information. Everybody surely agrees with you that we need more and safer public places for driving and walking. I suppose, politically, it becomes a matter of priorities in each locality. In the meantime an important message is this: the more congested we get as users of public places, the more we need to behave with "an attitude of latitude" meaning that we need to be supportive road users, not competitive. The problems people are complaining about can be eased by two solutions:

(1) more and safer roads -- as you want and most others as well, I think;

(2) more community attitudes and feelings toward one another (drivers, cyclists, truckers, pedestrians, pets, kids, skaters).

While you and your members are working politically for (1), please don't neglect number (2). DrDriving's goal is to empower people with skills to be able to make progress in You can quote anything you find on DrDriving--there is a lot if you look, but I can help you find things if you want. Just specify very specifically what you want the quotes to be about. If you're working on an article, I'd be happy to answer a couple of questions for you as an exclusive--by email. Just let me know.

Take care.
Leon James
"DrDriving"

Mon, 24 May 1999

From: Marty

Subject: 2 Items

There's a documented story regarding a woman who was forced to stop some distance back behind a serious traffic accident. While others around her were giving in to impatience and annoyance she decided to pray for whoever it was that was, quite likely, injured way up front.

Some time later the woman recieved a phone call from another woman thanking her for her kind prayers during the time of the accident. It seems the woman involved in the mishap had undergone severe trauma and had subsequently had a "near-death experience" wherein her spirit had arisen from her body and she had seen the surroundings including a beautiful light coming from the vehicle of the woman who was praying for her. Checking out the source of the light the woman identified the vehicle and memorized the license plate number enabling her to call her, when she was well again, some time later.

It seems that our kindest thoughts, and possibly our annoyed ones, have depths and levels we don't even imagine.

Also: I've noticed that when several vehicles converge at an intersection at the same time, or when there's otherwise some question as to who should go first, often other vehicles don't mind letting you go. The gestures, however, indicating that you can go first, whether by arm or by hand, seem to fall just short of impatient, annoyed obscenities. I've taken therefore, when indicating the same, to raise my whole right arm, palm extended, in a friendly and inviting way to offer them passage. The gesture is recieved, I think, as intended, in a much friendlier frame of mind. This is most evident on the faces of pedestrians because, being closer, their expressions are easier to see.

Yours truly,
Marty

Mon, 24 May 1999

Subject: A parable

A man, in a rowboat, was rowing upriver on his way home. Knowing that a self-powered upriver-bound vessel had the right-of-way he was happily oblivious to what was behind him as he rowed away.

Suddenly, he was bumped. As he whirled around he saw that it was a man in another rowboat coming downriver and not paying attention. He gave the man a loud and serious scolding for his ineptitude and the man apologized as he drifted away without further confrontation.

The man went on rowing for some time when, suddenly, he was bumped again. He whirled around angrily, ready to issue another scolding, and saw that it was just an empty boat that had come loose of its moorings. He pushed it away and continued to row home.

As he rowed home peacefully he thought about what had happened and vowed that, from that day forward, he would treat other people as well as an empty boat.

Marty

Mon, 24 May 1999

Subject: Re: internet addiction research

Thank you, Dr. James! I appreciate your help! I will most certainly explore your reports, and I'll keep you posted as to my results!

Best regards,

Jack

Tue, 25 May 1999

Subject: THE PEACEFUL DRIVER

Dear Dr. James,

Thank you so much for your nice comments about THE PEACEFUL DRIVER. I value your opinion very highly. By the way, we have our web site up now at www.peacefuldriver.org  . Hopefully, that will help spread the word a bit. Blessings and thank you again for all of the great work you are doing to help save lives.

Blessings,

Allen Liles

Tue, 25 May 1999

Subject: Dr. Driving's Driver Personality Test

Dear Dr. Leon James:

I am currently working with KITV4 account executive Kristina on a website linked to the KITV site for her promotion on Road Rage Relief. We were wondering if it would be possible to put your Dr. Driving's Driver Personality Test on our webpages for Road Rage Relief. We would, of course, credit your site and provide a link to your site.

Please email me with any questions or concerns. I hope we will be able to add your personality test to our site!

Mahalo,

Sonia

KITV4 Sales Webmaster

Tue, 25 May 1999

Subject: Re: Dr. Driving's Driver Personality Test

Hi, Ms. Bradley, it's a wonderful idea: go ahead and place a link to the personality survey. I'd be happy to link to you during your campaign! What's the exact URL? And by the way, Ms. Lockwood has me interviewed with the Mayor by Paul Uddell this week, and the next two weeks. My first appearance is this Friday. I wonder if I can see your campaign plans wirtten up somewhere?

Thanks.

Leon James

"DrDriving"

Wed, 26 May 1999

Subject: Dr. Driving - Teen Driving Safety

To whom it may concern,

As you are probably well aware, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in our nation. Over 500,000 teens are injured each year in car accidents. Over 70 percent of those who died in accidents were not wearing seat belts. Some states indicate that seat belts can reduce death and injury by up to 60 percent.

How do we get our children to buckle up?

Gail Swanson and her 16-year-old daughter, Jessica, have written a compelling story about Jessica's head-on collision and how a seat belt saved her life. By presenting the problem to teens on a personally level, and writing to them through "one of their own," it is believed that Strapped! can make an emotional impact into the hearts of our children and will help influence better driving habits.

Our purpose is to save lives. If you would like more information on how to order this newly published 25 page, easy-to-read booklet, please see our new website at www.teendrivingsafety.com  

Sincerely,

Judith

Wed, 26 May 1999

Subject: CityLife cover story 5/27/99

Prof. James:

Thanks again for your help on my recent story on driving psychology. I really appreciate your taking the time to help. As promised, a copy of the story appears below. It can also be accessed at http://www.lvcitylife.com/

Where the rage meets the road

Las Vegas has more than its share of bad drivers, but experts say lifeıs too short to get steamed about every idiot on the road

By STEVE

Itıs 8:30 a.m. on Sahara Avenue, and it seems like half the city is on the road, heading to work.

A driver cruises east down the street, heading from The Lakes toward the center of the city. Trapped temporarily behind a slow-moving minivan sporting a Christian fish symbol (two bad omens), he switches to the right lane.

Immediately, the minivan speeds up, while the Acura in the right lane slows to a crawl. Murphyıs traffic laws, proven once again. But hope springs eternal: The Acura puts on its signal, turning right into one of the ubiquitous strip malls that sandwich the busy Sahara, one of the most traveled and least functional streets in the city. Before turning, however, the Acuraıs driver comes to almost a complete stop. In the travel lane, thereıs profanity.

Free at last, our driver speeds up, to the legal limit of 45 (or perhaps just a tad more, to make up for lost time).

A Cadillac about 100 feet down away leaps from another strip mall into the roadway, right into our driverıs lane, going about 5 mph at first, then speeding up to a meager 25 mph.

Heavy braking. A lane change. More acceleration. Ah, ha. The driver of the Caddy is a man of about 75, with thick glasses. Heıs settled in to a nice 30 mph and heıs staying there, thank you very much. Back in the center lane, our driver enjoys a few minutes of peace. Theyıre wasted trying to find something good on the radio. He gives up, and shuts it off.

Up ahead, a huge sport utility vehicle leaves the parking lot of a car dealership on the north side of the road. The driver careens across three lanes of westbound traffic, across the median, past the left lane and, you guessed it, right into the center lane doing a gas-gusize="3ling 35 mph. Thereıs more braking and profanity. The horn of our driverıs economy import sounds puny compared with the roaring of the Ford Expedition, three times the weight and twice as high as our driverıs car. Rainbow Boulevard looms. Cars in the other two lanes zoom through the intersection as the light goes yellow, but the soccer mom, safe inside her impregnable steel cocoon, hits the brakes. More time wasted playing with the radio.

After what seems like 10 minutes, traffic gets going again. Or at least thatıs the assumption. The Expedition blocks out all views of whatıs ahead (not to mention the sun). Weıre going on faith here. Comes now Jones Boulevard, where the light is about to turn red, too. Our driver does a quick lane change, speeds up and passes under the signal just as it glows red. Made it. In the rear-view mirror, the Expedition has also sped up to beat the light. Now she finds the accelerator. Our driver, now approaching Decatur Boulevard, puts on the turn signal to get into the right lane to make a turn. All of a sudden, the Ford Mustang lurking in his blind spot speeds up, using the shoulder as a travel lane. Our driver falls in behind him, muttering ever more complicated yet well-conjugated strings of profanity.

Suddenly, all the traffic comes to a grinding halt. Up ahead, a CAT bus disgorges passengers. The process seems to take forever. Finally, the turn onto Decatur. Trafficıs flowing well down Decatur until everyone, in all three lanes, slows to a crawl. Accident? Cop giving a ticket? Another bus? UFO?

Nope. School zone.

Thereıs not a kid in sight (in fact, thereıs never been a kid seen on this stretch of pavement) but for a few hundred feet, everyone acts like the little darlings are happily skipping their way to school. The "end school zone" sign, like the green light on a stock car Christmas tree, sends accelerators to the floor.

Of course, traffic stops .998ths of a car length from the left turn bay at Desert Inn, just enough to keep our driver from turning to make the green; instead, he watches the light go yellow and red before traffic lets up. Another cycle, more wasted time. Isnıt there anything good on the radio?

At last, the destination is within sight. A few more people stop in traffic before turning, a reckless pedestrian darts out and a lost and confused motorist vainly scans those tiny little address numbers while going 15 mph on a road rated for 45.

At last, on a minor, neglected side street in the industrial area, and the end to the hell of the morning commute. Our driver turns into the parking lot, ready to jump out and face some stationary obstacles for a change.

Of course, thereıs a huge, 18-wheel truck blocking the last few remaining parking places, which were gobbled up while he bobbed and weaved his way down Sahara.

But thatıs another story.

Road rage: Is that so wrong?

Sources interviewed for this story all say the same thing: Drivers in Las Vegas are harried, hurried and frustrated. They run red lights. They cut people off. They change lanes without signaling. They just donıt care. ³On the road, we see a tremendous amount of impatience,² says Craig Harris, a 20-year taxi driver for Yellow Cab and editor of Trip Sheet magazine. ³And that builds a tremendous amount of frustration.²

Case in point: The interval between the time a light turns green and the time a driver will honk to get the first car in the line to start moving has shrunk, Harris says. One cabbie was still waiting for tardy pedestrians to cross a street when he started getting honks from behind. Exasperated, the driver got out of his cab and asked the motorists behind him which pedestrian he should flatten in order to make the light. "Itıs inevitable that thatıs going to happen," Harris says of the lingering pedestrians.

Whatıs the most violated traffic law? Not signaling before changing lanes, Harris says, and cabbies are some of the worst violators. ³The only part of the car thatıs not going to wear out is the turn signal,² he says.

Herb Arnold, chief of traffic engineering for Clark County, says the combination of tourists unfamiliar with Las Vegas streets, drivers searching for addresses and retirees who grew up under different driving conditions contributes to Vegası bad rap on the road. ³It probably does seem as if theyıre bad drivers,² he says. ³Everywhere thinks they have the worst drivers.²

Arnold says ³part of the pain of growth² is dealing with overcrowded roadways while traffic planners try to catch up to the surge of about 4,000 new residents each month.

Thatıs where jokes about Las Vegası state tree being an orange cone, and the state flag being an orange caution banner, come from, he says. Workers recently finished paving Desert Inn from Tenaya Drive through Durango Drive, providing Summerlin and The Lakes residents an alternative to Sahara. Next up: upgrading Spring Mountain Road, where the state hobby is dodging potholes. ³A lot of them [drivers] donıt understand the process it takes² to keep traffic moving, he says.

Over in the city of Las Vegas, traffic engineer O.C. White is facing the same problems, and the same assertion that drivers in Sin City are the worst anywhere.

³We have a bunch of drivers who came from a lot of different places. When they come in, they try to drive the way they did from where they came from,² he says. ³The city is growing so fast, a lot of times the way you used to drive is not appropriate today.²

White says construction plays a big role in bad driving. When crews are working on roads, they reduce the number of lanes available and lower speed limits, with diamond-shaped orange signs that warn of double penalties in work zones.

³It just seems like theyıre holding you back,² he says. ³I just donıt understand what the rush is.²

But White may have hit on a genuine good idea to cut down on it: He says the city is mulling using signs that tell motorists on Bonanza Road (the site of some recent construction) that lights on the thoroughfare are timed at a certain speed. The message: Go too fast, and youıll end up waiting at a light. Too slow, ditto. But travel the speed limit and youıll hit the greens.

³That seemed to work well for us² in Fresno, Calif., says White, referring to the city he worked in before Las Vegas.

And while older drivers have a bad reputation, they do lose some driving ability as they age, says Roy McGuire, state coordinator for the American Association of Retired Personsı 55-Alive driving classes.

³You begin to go downhill a little bit at age 55,² McGuire says. Vision, hearing and reaction time all slacken, leading to accidents caused by failing to yield the right of way or making left-hand turns improperly, he says.

The eight-hour classes which drew 7,000 people last year in Nevada train older drivers to recognize the problems related to aging and to compensate for them. Insurance companies give up to a 10 percent discount for people who take the class.

³Itıs a terrible loss of freedom when you give up your driving ability,² McGuire says. ³They [young people] think all older drivers are bad, and thatıs not so.²

Do you know why I pulled you over?

Metro Police Lt. Joe Greenwood, who supervises the 85 motorcycle-mounted traffic officers, says Las Vegas drivers arenıt any worse than their counterparts in other places. Rather, he says, bad driving is about time pressure. ³People are in a hurry. People are wanting to get to their destination, so theyıre taking risks,² Greenwood says. ³I think itıs a matter of people knowing what theyıre supposed to do and just donıt do it.² Greenwood says many accidents are caused by motorists running red lights, making left turns without yielding to oncoming traffic and following other drivers too closely, resulting in rear-end collisions.

Efforts by cops to educate drivers, like the radar trailer that contrasts a driverıs actual speed with the posted limits, arenıt really working, Greenwood says. As a result, police ought to be handing out more tickets, he says.

But therein lies a problem: There are only so many traffic officers in Las Vegas, and they are also needed to handle accident investigations and write reports, sometimes for minor collisions.

But Greenwood doesnıt reflexively call for more cops; he acknowledges that almost all the units within Metro, from vice to homicide, are requesting more manpower. But he also must contend with accident statistics that show only four fewer fatal crashes in 1997 than in 1996 (the most recent year for which statistics are available). In 1996, 213 people died in fatal traffic accidents. A year later in 1997, 200 people lost their lives, according to the state Office of Traffic Safety. When statistics show you are not winning the war, you have to throw more resources at it,² Greenwood says.

Erin Breen, director of the Safe Communities Partnership, which runs the Transportation Research Center at UNLV, says the school created the ³courtesy is contagious² campaign featured on signs and stickers around town as an educational tool for drivers. Breen says she favors restrictions on teen licenses, such as the limits proposed in Assembly Bill 552, which would have banned teens from driving friends for the first four months they have a license, and from driving at night (except for work or school) for the first year. In addition, she says, she favors mandatory testing every two years for drivers older than 65 and annual exams for drivers 75 and older. But such measures canıt take the place of more cops on the street, she says.

³They [voters] want more traffic police until they get a ticket, then they complain bitterly,² she says. ³The reality is what you need is more police to give you a ticket when youıre 15 mph over the speed limit.² Joanne Keller, the stateıs highway safety coordinator, says the story in her numbers shows that maybe Nevadans do deserve their bad driving rep. Nevadaıs Legislature approved Assembly Bill 457 this session aimed at aggressive driving, which is defined as speeding coupled with running a red light or stop sign, passing on the right, unsafe driving, following too closely or failing to yield the right of way all in a one-mile stretch.

Violations are misdemeanors and people convicted of the crime can be sentenced to traffic school and a 30-day license suspension. Another offense within two years results in a one-year suspension. The bill is awaiting a decision from Gov. Kenny Guinn.

³Maybe there is something to the fact that Nevada has aggressive drivers,² Keller says, citing grants to fight bad driving sought by the Nevada Highway Patrol and the Reno Police Department. ³If you have law enforcement agencies submitting grants for aggressive driving, there must be something driving it.²

Aside from opening more roads, local traffic engineers have little to say about curing bad driving. Sometimes, drivers do bad things on good roads, and thereıs nothing that could be done to prevent it, White says. ³Sometimes, some of the decisions they make, we canıt design for,² he says. So then what? ³Weıre trying to talk it up around here, how important it is to drive courteously,² he says. Clark Countyıs Arnold agrees: ³

Thatıs about it: Drive friendly.²

Aloha driving

Leon James always thought he was a good driver, until his wife told him two decades ago that her grandmother was afraid to ride in his car. Ridiculous, said James, a professor of traffic psychology at the University of Hawaii.

But then when he started to analyze his driving, he realized his wifeıs grandmother was right: He was a bad driver. The realization led James^Ëknown as "Dr. Driving" on the Internet^Ëto a lifelong study of bad driving habits and how to break them.

³Drivers are very subjective. They have their own perceptions and their own weaknesses,² he says. A psychologist at heart, James says driving behavior is absorbed by kids starting when theyıre infants, and that bad driving habits are passed along from parents to their offspring. Combine that with all the bad driving shown on TV and in the movies, and youıve got problems, James says.

³TV shapes your values and attitudes,² he says. ³When you see media portrayals [of bad driving] it makes it easier and more likely to take aggressive attitudes towards [other] drivers.²

What about the notion that aggressive driving is an attempt on the part of the motorist to take back some control, to refuse to let things like traffic, other drivers or signals make them late? Dr. Driving says itıs the opposite: Once you give in to aggressiveness behind the wheel, you lose control.

³The second youıre expressive and show your reaction, youıve lost control. Itıs up to the other driver how heıs going to react,² James says. ³Itıs the smart thing to do not to react.² But why do people get so upset in traffic anyway? After all, as the license plate frame says, ³get a grip, it was just a lane change.² James says the car culture imbues the automobile with a symbolic value, an emphasis on freedom and individuality: Youıre not just cutting off my car, youıre cutting me off, and thatıs disrespect. ³Territoriality distorts your perspective,² he says.

To fix the problem, James urges drivers to pretend theyıre motoring along in Hawaii, driving with an ³aloha² attitude instead of a ³screw you² spirit. But in practice, he says, itıs not so easy to do.

Dr. Driving suggests a three-step process to rage-free wheel time: Admit you have a problem, take a tape recorder along in the car to capture what youıre like as you drive (³people are shocked at what comes out of their mouths,² he says), and then pick one bad behavior at a time to change. He recommends keeping a driving log to recoord progress. If necessary, h says, get some friends or family in on it, too, to make sure you actually fill out your log.

To help, James maintains a website dedicated to aloha driving (http://aloha.net/-dyc/) that includes a survey you can take to see how aggressive of a driver you are, interview excerpts from aggressive drivers, top 10 aggressive driving states as determined by self-reported driver surveys Nevada doesnıt appear on the list, which is topped by Pennsylvania, Ontario and ova Scotia, Canada), a database of laws Against aggressive driving and anti-road rage awareness activities for kids, parents and teachers.

License, everyone?

How hard is it to get a driverıs license in Nevada? Can you see? If yes, step right up and smile for the camera. Congratulations, youıre in. According to Kevin Malone, spokesman for the Department of Motor Vehicles, out-of-state drivers at least 25 years old who relocate to Nevada with clean driving records (no more than two moving violations or suspensions in the past four years) only have to take a vision test to get their Nevada license. If theyıre under 25 with a clean record, they may also have to take a written test.

³Weıre basing it on their past history,² Malone says, adding that thereıs not enough manpower to subject all transplanted Nevada drivers to an on-the-road skills test. ³If you think the lines at the DMV are long now...²

Itıs only when someone has convictions for DUI on their record that getting a license becomes difficult. Nevada, like all states, is plugged into the Problem Driver Pointer System, a nationwide database of driving records. DUI convicts must get a clearance letter from their home state saying itıs OK for Nevada to issue a license, and then must taken the vision, written and behind-the-wheel skills test.

³We kind of throw the book at them,² Malone says. ³The days of skipping to another state and getting a license are over.²

While in Nevada, bad drivers who are nabbed by the police can only rack up 12 points in a single year before their license is suspended (DUI convicts have their licenses automatically suspended). Reckless driving carries eight points, careless driving carries six. Failure to give aid or give information at an accident costs six points, while following too closely, failure to yield to a pedestrian, passing a school bus when its red lights are flashing and running red lights all earn four points. Speeding can cost between one and four points, depending on how fast youıre over the limit, and speeding in school zones will get you either four or six points, again depending on speed.

But what about new drivers, the teenagers who everyone thinks are so dangerous behind the wheel? According to Malone, under a new law that took effect in October, all Nevada teens must have a mandatory 30-hour classroom driverıs education course, then pass the vision and written test to get a learner's permit. After that, they are supposed to get 50 hours of behind-the-wheel training with a parent before they can come down and take the behind-the-wheel road test, and get a license. (The 30-hour requirement does not include a single hour of in-car training.) But driving school owners say the state should require some professional behind-the-wheel teaching before they hand out a license, because many parents simply sign the form saying theyıve given the 50-hour training, when they havenıt.

³I think people are not trained in this country at all,² says Ken Kruger, president of the All-American Driving School and of the Nevada professional Driving School Association. At least one study has shown, Kruger says, that school-based driversı education is ineffective in teaching driving skills.

³I think the high schools ought to drop driverıs ed,² he says. ³Itıs a subject they should not be teaching. Theyıre wasting peopleıs time and money.²

Kruger maintains the only way to teach driving skills is to repeat them until they become a habit. Driving simulators are a good way, but theyıre too expensive to purchase, so in-car training becomes a necessity. His company offers a six-hour course at $35 an hour, And while Kruger says the DMV testing process should be harder, he says politics prevents toughening the standards. ³The only problem is, here again, youıre going back to the politics. How many voters do you want to keep off the road?² he says. ³Itıs a terrible situation the way it works, but I donıt think they could get anything else past the voters.²

Pamela Cantor, the owner of Safeway Driving School, also says teens should be required to take behind-the-wheel classes, like the ones her company offers for six and 10 hours. That way, they can be trained in real environments, like heavy traffic, clogged parking lots and freeways. (While professional behind-the-wheel training isnıt mandatory under state law, those who take classes can get a 20 percent discount on insurance, she says.)

³Nobody ever looks over their shoulder, nobody ever checks the blind spot,² she says. Cantor says she avoids the freeways because of bad drivers. ³They taught themselves² how to drive there, she says. As for the 50-hour requirement, Cantor says most people donıt do it.³ They donıt have time, theyıre working,² she says. As for the DMV road test, she says the department doesnıt have the manpower to test new drivers properly. ³They get ıem in and out like crazy. Itıs an assembly line. Itıs not long enough,² she says.

³Weıre 20 years behind everybody anyway,² Cantor says. ³Behind-the-wheel is just as important as the 30 hours of driverıs ed, if not more important. Hands-on, thatıs the only way youıll learn anything.²

On the road again

Back in the industrial area, itıs quitting time. Our driver gets into the car, hoping for a better trip home. Turning onto Desert Inn, heıs encouraged to see he might make the green light at Desert Inn and Decatur.

The light goes yellow and red before he gets there, but not to worry: The right turn lane gets a green signal that lingers for a few seconds, which makes it possible to turn right, onto Decatur, before the mile-long line of cross-traffic waiting at the intersection stampedes through.

A signal, a lane change, itıs home free now. Oh wait. Some guy in a beat-up compact, pulling out of the gas station, has completely blocked the turn lane, waiting to get into the line of cars stopped at the intersection. Our driverıs green arrow goes yellow, then red. The guy in the compact, alerted to the situation by a honk, some colorful metaphors and a nasty, nasty look, just shrugs his shoulders, as if to say, ³What can I do?² Specific, though anatomically unlikely, suggestions are offered as the compact drives off.

Some days, driving in Vegas, you just canıt catch a break.

Metro Police will focus the June ³First Tuesday² programs on traffic laws. Traffic officers will discuss road rules and tickets at the meetings, which start at 7 p.m. June 1 at all five substations, 401 S. Fourth St., 831 N. Mojave Road, 6208 Hargrove Ave., 2300 E. St. Louis Ave. and 5925 Spring Mountain Road.

Steve

Staff Writer, CityLife

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999

Subject: comment on Sebelius article

I applaud the story by Steve on Las Vegas attempts to cope with the driving problems every city is also experiencing. As one of the experts being quoted, I'd like officials to realize that drivers need to receive training not only in safety but in driving psychology. With more congestion and unexpected delays, drivers need to learn how to drive with emotional intelligence. What this is and how it can be acquired is something we all need to discuss and find out. I invite your readers to visit Dr. Driving's Web site at www.drdriving.org

Leon James

DrDriving

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999

Subject: Aggressiveness

I think a lot of your research is misdirected. What drivers think and how they evaluate themselves is open to the same kind of distortion as typical self-reporting counseling methods. If people are experiencing the kind of things listed in your aggressiveness syndrome, they shouldn't even be behind the wheel.

Part of the problem is that we have cultivated irresponsibility behind the wheel in many ways. When anyone gets behind the wheel even to run down to the 7-11 to get a Coke, they should feel the same weight of responsibility as the captain or pilot of a powerful machine. A wonderful and enjoyable machine, but one that can easily change their lives, and those of others if used carelessly.

What a driver feels at any given moment depends on many things including her personality, cultural identity, moral character, etc. Driver training needs to develop a discipline that detaches driving behavior from emotional state as much as possible.

Although I am angry a good bit of the time behind the wheel, I work to maintain a consistent approach to each situation and the general object of getting somewhere alive and in reasonable time. Though some would call my driving "aggressive," it is not, because it is not aimed at anyone, even the "idiots" I see on the highway with alarming frequency. (Most of them are not idiots, they're bored, and if you're not paying attention, you might as well be an idiot, or drunk.)

I enjoy driving immensely and could do it virtually all day every day. I stay relaxed behind the wheel and work to maintain total concentration as much as possible. I call my driving style "progressive" because it's object is to get there and help others do the same.

I will not take your survey because I believe it is misdirected. I will say I've been driving for thirty-eight years. In that time someone has rear-ended my car every seven years on average, usually while I sit at the end of a line waiting for a red light to change.

I drive a Dodge Dynasty LE 3.3V6 with over 100,000 miles on it. I have modified the suspension for better handling and use maximum size premium rain tires. The car is carefully maintained mechanically and cosmetically.

I set my cruise control to 70 on local intestates with 55 limits, and just over 80 on those with 65 limits. (I get a ticket every 3-5 years and, yes, ticket avoidance has a place in my driving strategies). I select a speed that is comfortable but a little challenging, as I believe many people do. It is part of a whole technique designed to help me concentrate and stay alert. I believe that speed mythology is killing thousands, corrupting police and courts, and clogging our highways, and diverting attention from a number of more important driving issues.

I think you should be developing driver training programs and pressing insurance companies to offer free driver training to their clients with rate incentives. Such training should be graded and run from basic to expert.

I do find some of your material interesting and will keep an eye on your work.

Cordially, David H.

Thu, 27 May 1999

Subject: Re: Aggressiveness

Mr. DH, thanks for your suggestions and perspective. I do agree with you on all the issues you raised. I think what you've suggested will actually be undertaken in the near future (like driver training of members by insurance companies).

I too love driving. Perhaps you can take a leadership role in your community and start a Quality Driving Circle. I discuss it here:

http://DrDriving.org/articles/qdc.htm

I envisage the day when thousands of QDCs in every neighborhood are alive and active. Then the new age of driving will dawn. Let me know your thoughts on QDCs.

Leon James

DrDriving

Tue, 25 May 1999

Subject: punish and retaliate

"road rage is an inability to let go of a desire to punish and retaliate the other driver."

I recall feeling this way towards my younger brother, whenever I felt that his misbehavior had not been punished by my parents. It was a sense of righteous indignation, resulting in vigilantism.

As always, vigilantism is a response to absent law enforcment. We see this surge in automotive vigilantism at the same time that the image of the coffee-swilling doughnut-stuffing policeman has become common currency.

In the case of the issue at hand, traffic law enforcement is almost

Non-existent. Other researchers have noted that the rate of traffic citations has plummetted since the 1970s. Last week, I witnessed a SUV driver run a stop sign directly in sight of a parked cruiser. The officer inside was reading a newspaper.

Police have focussed traffic enforcement on higghway speed traps for decades and neglected all other traffic regulation such as red-light running, use of turn signals, unsafe lane changes, tailgating, and so forth. The epidemic of road rage we are witnessing is just the inevitable consequence of an idealistic population frustrated by the unpunished transgressions of others. That consequence has always been vigilantism.

So. Reforming the police force is a bigger windmill than I can tilt. But how about channeling and diverting that vigilante urge? How about a variation on the 1-800- "How's My Driving" stickers for truckers? How about a toll-free phone number which motorists can call to report the license plate numbers of aggressive drivers? So that rather than respond in kind, motorists have some non-violent recourse to "punish" the other driver. These license numbers could be made available to insurance agencies, who I'm sure would want to know about dangerous behavior in their covered automobiles.

This proposal has a couple of interesting positives:

1. it doesn't require proving *who* was driving at any point in time. The insurers cover the car itself, no matter who is driving.

2. there is no invasion of privacy required -- the insurance company already knows the license numbers of the cars they cover.

3. The database can be made public, it's only a list of plate numbers. The insurance companies need *never* publicize their use of the database if they don't wish to, but they can still factor the information into rates which they quote.

4. Parents are plausibly more interested in perusing this database for the plate numbers of cars which their children might be driving.

And a couple of possible negatives:

1. it can be abused for other purposes. Someone might call to complain about the driving of an estranged spouse, lover, boss, or co-worker. This could be countered by correlating the phone number of the caller with the reported plate number, and disqualifying multiple reports from a single calling number.

2. there is not necessarily any repercussion against the offending driver. It all depends on whether his insurance company scans the database. But perhaps the symbolic action would be sufficient to defuse the retaliatory urge on the part of the offended driver.

Lyle

Thu, 27 May 1999

Subject: Re: punish and retaliate

Mr. L, I appreciate your desire to solve the driving problem our society is undergoing. I think your solution of "automotive vigilantism" (I'll borrow the term from you, OK?) may actually be already happening, as I've noticed on several Web pages, including the idea of a database parents can consult. In fact there is one on the Web, perhaps several. So it may be a trend.

I'd like to quote two of your paragraphs in this document, in case you want to see

Any comments on my QDC idea?

Leon James

DrDriving

Fri, 28 May 1999

Subject: RE: punish and retaliate

Quote me if you like, no need to credit. I know you're trying to find a cooperative, constructive way for everyone to just get along, and that's commendable, but by doing that, you're trying to do more than address road rage, you're trying to fundamentally change the nature of late 20th century America. That's a tall order. My suggestion, and others from "the old paradigm" is motivated by a pragmatic approach to working with, influencing, nudging, the existing social order towards a better end. If you have to turn everything upside down, it will take a lot longer and may not happen at all.

(you're a psychologist, right, but you must have some background in sociology as well, at least, more than the average joe. Right? You'll have to bear with me, as my knowledge of sociology is limited to a couple of courses in college a zillion years ago. So I'm only speaking as a marginally-informed layman. I could be way wrong here.)

First of all, I think your proposals for "aloha driving" and QDCs are pleasantly idealistic. I see you've quoted Swedenborg in your signature, and I think I understand where you're coming from. And I do agree that the larger issue of violence in American society is closely coupled with our problem with "road rage." In other countries, drivers are far more "rude" and "agressive" on the road (and I have to use the scary quotes, because it's our cultural context standing in judgement of theirs), yet the driving does not escalate into violence. I'm speaking of cities like Mexico City, Lisbon, Venice, Rome, Bombay.

So I agree that it would be a good thing all around if people could be encouraged to relax, loosen up, chill out, cool it, aloha. Peace, alright?

On the other hand, the concept of QDCs, like support groups, or salons, or other communitarian movements (or self-improvement itself), is almost quaintly liberal, urban, and disconnected from the larger trends of de-urbanization and individualism that are presently pervading our society. You might be able to (I'm sure you could) sell a self-help book titled "Stop Road Rage: start here" and people might do a little introspection into their own behavior, but I really don't believe that groups of people will formally involve themselves in other people's lives (or vice versa) for the sole purpose of improving their driving habits. Oh, some people would participate, sure. Just like some people participate in support groups, or salons, or church small groups, or reading circles, etcetera. But I don't see how it could become a sufficiently large movement to change society. I think it will remain permanently on the fringe. This has nothing to do with "would it work if people would participate?" I think it would. This is just "would people participate?" And absent coercion, I don't think they would.

The only way people would participate on a large scale is *if* large numbers of people could be convinced that their *own* behavior should be improved. That road rage and aggressive driver aren't "some other asshole", but they are the product of each person's "asshole within". But Leon, if you can create that kind of large-scale self-awareness, you won't need QDCs – you will have already ushered in the New Jerusalem.

Lyle

Tue, 18 May 1999

Subject: Re: a very true and positive image of truckers

I thank you for a response and would appreciate all the help i can get On getting this message out to everyone. Please link my site. I look forward to talking to you again.

Sincerely,

Jimmy

Thursday, May 27, 1999

Subject: Re: a very true and positive image of truckers

Thank you for showing me your site and logo, Mr. Hodge. I'd be glad to link to your site with your logo if you so desire. Let me know.

Leon James

DrDriving

Wed, 26 May 1999

Subject: MADDER -- revisited

Dr. James,

I don't know if you remember me, but you sent me an email regarding my site

MADDER

Motorists Against Drunk Driving Enforcement Rip-offs

http://www.madder.org/

I have recently upgraded my site rethinking several positions that you remarked upon.

Re: Teaching drivers to drink and drive -- If you are going to drink and drive -- use a condom!

http://www.madder.org/Use-protection.htm

and

My anger

http://www.madder.org/Road-Rage.htm

The response has been quite good since I softened my site. Additionally, regarding your proposed organization, CARR. you might want to visit --

http://www.madder.org/Democracy.htm  and

http://www.madder.org/Prohibition.htm

I had been doing much studying surrounding dyads, sacred geometry and Venn Diagrams anyway so I included those philosophies into my position and mission. Having done so, I have changed my perception of organizations that are against...

Thanks for your comments!

Mike

Sat, 29 May 1999

Subject: Christ Against Road Rage

Dear Leon James,

Please e-mail me about how I can buy your book about road rage. Thank you for your commitment to this important subject.

Sincerely,

Tony

Sat, 29 May 1999

Subject: Re: Christ Against Road Rage

Hi Tony, thanks for wanting the book, but it has not yet been published. Let me know if you know of a publisher interested in this subject and approach.

Leon James

DrDriving

Sun, 30 May 1999

Subject: Re: causes of Road Rage

Hi, I am a student at Simon Fraser University in BC, Canada and I just had a quick question. I will be doing a research possibilities paper in the next week and a half on Road Rage and its' causes. I have been having trouble finding adequate sources to use as a starting point for my paper and I was wondering if you could tell me of a couple of studies that you may have done on this topic. I am particularly interested in the possibility that Type A personality traits may have some hand in road rage and will be trying to focus on that for my paper. Could you offer any insights to this possibility and idea? Your response would be greatly appreciated.

Thank-you,

Athena

Undergraduate, Simon Fraser University

Mon, 31 May 1999

Subject: Re: causes of Road Rage

Try my index of topics in these two places:

http://DrDriving.org/topics.html

http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/leoni.html  

and also the bibliography here:

http://DrDriving.org/facts/references.htm

DrDriving

Mon, 31 May 1999

Subject: web site

Dr. James,

I want to thank you for your web site, and the student’s reports. I am teaching two classes of Driver Ed. this summer, and I have found, what seems to be an endless list of items that I could use. When I started this search this morning I really didn't think I would find as much information as I have on this web site. It has more than I could use in a five week in class session. The students will also have five weeks of driving. I really want to thank you for this site. I have it marked as one of my favorites.

Mrs. S.

St. Louis, Missouri

Mon, 31 May 1999

Subject: Re: web site

Thanks. I'm glad my materials are getting to the drivers. If you have time, I'd like to know how they take it, especially since some critics of mine feel that I'm hopelessly idealistic.

Leon James

DrDriving

Mon, 31 May 1999

Subject: web site

Hi again, Dr. James,

I am writing now to obtain permission to use some of the information on this site.

Such as some of the test questionnaires or tests. I find them very useful. When I use any ones work in my classes I also use the person or location of where I found the information. Including statement/s which were spoken in a conversation.

Thank you again,

Mrs. S.

St. Louis, Missouri

Mon, 31 May 1999

Subject: Obeying Speed Limits

Dear Dr. Driving,

I have been working on reducing my aggressive driving habits for a couple of years. Your website has helped me greatly. I am now at the point that I rarely tailgate or change lanes unnecessarily. My question relates to speed limits. This has been the hardest habit to break for me. For example, I have tried setting the cruise at 54 in a 55 zone and find that this increases the number of other cars coming dangerously close to me. For safety reasons, I have increased my speed, but I still feel guilty and that I am not doing my part to reduce my aggressive driving.

Is there any other interpretation of speed limits other than the one I learned, that 56 is speeding if the sign says 55?

I would really appreciate any advice you may have.

Yours,

Michael

Mon, 31 May 1999

Subject: Re: Obeying Speed Limits

Mr. M,

The speed issue is indeed one of the hardest to tackle for a lot of people like myself and you--but for different reasons. I have to tone myself down all the time from the automatic tendency to rush. You are dealing with a standard dilemma we all have to deal with. Why do cops break speed limits when they get off duty and drive home?

You are experiencing a conflict between two motivations: On the one hand you go along with the concept that breaking the speed limit is a type of aggressive driving; on the other hand, you want to go faster in order not to annoy other drivers in that area, or not to be annoyed by them. This is a classic dilemma. You did not create it. So now what to do about it?

I'm not responsible for what happens if you take my advice and it doesn't work out, but I can tell you how I deal with it myself and how others have done so.

The idea is to be responsive to both the law and the drivers you interact with. Try to find a solution that fits both, though not always, and not equally well. We have to care about the other drivers who feel anxious to get around you. They are not idiots or jerks deserving your contempt, just people behind the wheel who lack self-control and need to train themselves--as you are trying to do.

I have a new document with a Table that helps you train yourself to drive with emotional intelligence. Check it out here--you'll find other letters that will help you understand the driver mentality. I'm placing this letter there as well, without your real ID, so you'll see it there. Thanks.

Let me know your reactions to this. Can you live with it? Can you make it work for you? I want to know what happeens after you try. Thanks for writing, and good luck!

Leon James

DrDriving

Mon, 31 May 1999

Subject: PLEASE READ -- VERY IMPORTANT

Dr. James,

You may not remember me but I sent you an e-mail asking for an interview about road rage a while ago. I'm sorry about the delay in writing back, I've been very busy researching! i would appreciate it if you could send me any info at all about your work with road rage. My teacher insists that I consult with a professional and i don't have much time. I promise I will send you a copy of my final paper, which i have decided will be a persuasive essay on why we should pay more attention to the problem of road rage and what we can do to lower the number of road rage related incidents. I understand you are a busy person, but a reply by June 4 will be appreciated.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Saima

Mon, 31 May 1999

Subject: Re: PLEASE READ -- VERY IMPORTANT

Please consult these two articles for a summary of road rage and its

related links:

http://DrDriving.org/surveys/survey2/interpretations.html  

DrDriving

Mon, 31 May 1999

Subject: Traffic Ticket

Hi,

My name is Rajiv Jain. I am a non-resident in Texas. Recently when I was going to work around 9:30 Am, one cop gave me a traffic ticket for jumping a red light. I started crossing the intersection on Yellow light but before I could complete the intersection, the signal turned red. As per Texas law I suppose I am not guilty. Cop says that just before I crossed the line the signal turned red. I am not sure which line cop meant the starting line or the finish line but if he meant starting line then he is definitely mistaken.

My main purpose of writing this letter is, the Texas state law gives me 3 options to counter the ticket:

1) Take defensive driving course. To take this course Court clerk says that

I should have insurance at the time of opting for defensive driving option.

The rental car insurance is not a valid insurance for taking defensive driving.

I was driving a rental car when the cop gave me the ticket. I was having both liability, collision and comprehensive insurance. I don't own a car and hence I don't have an insurance. I plan to rent a car during my this trip in US then is it true that I can never take defensive driving test.

2) Deferred probation.

3) Contest the Ticket: I am damn sure that when I started crossing the intersection the light was yellow/amber. When I was some where in the middle of intersection the signal turned red. Now I have following questions:

a) If I contest the case, whom will the judge believe, me or the cop?

b) If you contest the case and lose, then what are the general penalties?

Sorry for troubling you with personal problem but if you could reply my these question then that will be great help

Thanks and regards,

Rajiv

Mon, 31 May 1999

Subject: Re: Traffic Ticket

Mr. J, I'm afraid I can't help you beyond giving you my personal opinion. You asked:

"a) If I contest the case, whom will the judge believe, me or the cop?

b) If you contest the case and lose, then what are the general penalties?

To (a), I think it's well known that judges tend to give the testimony of police officers more weight--rightly so or wrongly, it depends on the situation.

To (b), you can search the Web for Texas driving laws or call the police or ask a lawyer.

Hope you get justice.

DrDriving

Tue, 1 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Traffic Ticket

Hi leon,

Thanks for your advice. I have couple of more questions:

a) I contest the case and in court, I ask judge to allow me to take defensive driving course though I don't have proof of Financial Responsibility. can judge allow me to do so.

b) Texas doesn't have point System so if the ticket is on my records. My

driver license will not have any points. In texas they increase insurance premium based on ticket but say tomorrow I go to other state, say New Jersey, which has point system. In such a case will the other state convert that ticket to points or no. If no, will my insurance premium be higher in NJ though my license record shows no point.

I am sorry for troubling you with personal problem but if you can reply to my these queries then that will be great help.

Thanks

Ra

Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1999 12:21:06 -1000

Subject: Re: Traffic Ticket

You WILL get points for your violation if you turn in a Texas license.

Mr. Traffic

http://www.mr.trsffic.com 

 Wed, 2 Jun 1999

Subject: Hello from South Texas

I teach English at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, TX. Each semester we choose a topic for the students in our developmental English classes to examine during the lab component of our classes. At the end of the semester, they take an exit exam, which involves writing an essay on the topic. This semester we've chosen aggressive driving as our topic. Your site is, needless to say, most helpful. Do you know of any surveys or questionnaires our students could take something to help them gage their personal driving practices? I found one at

http://www.nku.edu/~durmj/RoadRage.html  but it has a number of mistakes. Many thanks

Caro.

Wed, 2 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Hello from South Texas

Thanks Ms. Stradinger, you're doing a good thing combining writing practice with aggressive driving as a topic. About the road rage survey: they can look at either of three I have at the following addresses:

http://DrDriving.org/surveys/survey2/interpretations.html

http://DrDriving.org/surveys/survey3/personality.html

http://DrDriving.org/youth/carrsurvey.html

The last one mentioned is especially for school-aged children and has exercises and activities (including watching TV to identify and describe DBB ratings -- Drivers Behaving Badly). My students loved to have homework for which they had to watch TV!

Leon James

DrDriving

Back to Interview Answers || Back to DrDriving  ||  List of Interviews

	Enter your search terms
	Web DrDriving.org

Wed, 2 Jun 1999

Subject: yellow

Hi Kenny,

Hope you're fine and your show is going fine. On a recent visit to your site, I noticed the animated traffic lights that say, "Speed Up" on yellow. OK, this is a joke right? Since English was my 11th language, as you know, I get dense when it comes to ethnic jokes.

I have some new results on how drivers think with lots of new material to get into from a humorous angle, in case you're thinking of having me back on your show one day.

Here is the address of the new document:

http://DrDriving.org/surveys/personality.html

Take care and have a nice day!

Leon

Wed, 2 Jun 1999

Subject: road rage comment

Dr. Holmes,

I enjoyed your article on road rage in today's Guide at About.com Two of your recommended links refer to me and my students. I agree that viewing road rage as a mental disorder may not help solve our aggressive driving problem I have proposed soci-cultural methods for solving the problem with lifelong driver education and quality driving circles. The fact is that we are now raising the next generation of aggressive drivers (our kids riding in cars with angry adults). You'll find more on these topics at my Web site, including the results of my latest road rage survey and driver personality survey. Let me know your reactions.

Dr. Leon James

"DrDriving"

http://drdriving.org

Thu, 3 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: road rage comment

Hello Dr. James,

Thanks for the kind words. I added your main site as a link on the article that you read. I do like your approach, and I see that Dr. Nerenberg has toned-down his statements a bit on his site. If I do another Road Rage feature I'll dig deeply into your site for resources. I'll see if I can find another place or two to list your sites too.

Leonard

Thu, 3 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Hello from South Texas

Many thanks. I'm sorry that I didn't dig deeper into your site before calling for help. I think our students will do well with this topic. I'll let you know if anything interesting turns up.

Carolyn

Del Mar College

Fri, 4 Jun 1999

Subject: Road Rage

As a psychotherapist in Los Angeles, I have been examining the various literature on the above issue and came across yours.

I am curious if you would consider those perpetrators of road rage as a general group to be "mentally ill" and inappropriately licensed to drive. I am asking because of a local TV station who is asserting the above. I do not see the preponderance of the incidents being done by those we would clinically assess as "mentally ill" altho certainly having large amounts of repressed rage, probably forms of abuse in their past and various more current stresses of life, traffic, sleep deprivation, being late, general control issues, etc.

Your immediate reactions would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Jessica

Sat, 5 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Road Rage

Ms. J,

You ask for my take on the connection between road rage and mental illness.

Is there a way of defining road rage in such a way as to make it one of the mental illness categories? Yes. However, I believe that road rage is nothing else than anger and rage that can get beyond the bounds of self-control, and thus every driver practically has that. Therefore it would not be practicable to classify it as mental illness.

If you have specific reactions or concerns you want me to comment on after reading my definition, I'd be glad to respond further. This is indeed a very important activity on the part of mental health professionals today, namely, how to find ways of influencing our generation to handle rage in all its manifestations. Is spouse abuse a mental illness?? What is spouse abuse? Is it hitting one's wife once or twice, or never, or regularly? I think you'll have similar problems with aggressive driving and road rage in terms of defining its limits.

Leon James

"DrDriving"

Sat, 5 Jun 1999

Subject: requesting permission

Dr. Leon James and Dr. Diane Nahl,

I would like your permission to use some of the information from your studies found on your website. I am writing a "Proposal Essay" detailing the causes and dangers of "Road Rage" and some good ideas for a solution. If given your permission I will of course give credit where credit is due, as well as include your Website's in my "works cited list".

Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,

Lesley

Sat, 5 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: requesting permission

Mr. Y,

I can give permission for what you ask if you detail the actual text and how it is quoted. So for now, you can assume I'll be giving permission after I receive the piece(s) you wrote that contains the materials you quote. Thanks for your interest in our driving psychology materials.

Leon James

"Dr Driving"

Sun, 6 Jun 1999

From: b <c@prodigy.net>

Subject: Road Rage Video Request

Dear Dr. Driving, I'm a Police officer in the Miami Florida area and I will be doing a training class on the topic of Road Rage to students ages 12 to 17 years old. I'm looking for a video on the topic of Road Rage to assist me in teaching this class. We do not have anything in our Library on the topic. If you have anything, I would really appreciate you helping me in this matter. I'm probably the only person in our Dept to present a course like this. Some one in the United Kingdom recommended you.

Larry In Miami.

Mon, 7 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Culture Tantrum

Mr. Todd, thank you for your observations, and for the most part I agree with you. I think the solution is indeed a change in the culture of cynicism, but as well, as you point out, in the better training of those who are "passive aggressors" by lacking empathy and sympathy for other drivers. My proposal for Quality Driving Circles will take care of that. What do you think?

Leon James
DrDriving
Kindly ask road rage to step out of the vehicle

Monday, June 7, 1999

By SUSAN PAYNTER Author

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

Rage may be riding along today when you stop to grab groceries or drive to work.

If it's not in your car, it could be screaming obscenities into your tailpipe.

Northbound in the stop-and-go on Seattle's Eastlake Avenue East last Friday, verbal shots were fired between two drivers in the outside lane.

The cause of the fury? Neither would yield, so both were stuck behind a bus.

In the turn lane in front of the Crown Hill QFC two days earlier, the tableau had been even uglier.

The mid-40s man in the white Ford Explorer was right, of course. The elderly driver in the yellow Skylark had lost his reflexes and should not be on wheels. But leaping out in the middle of stalled traffic to spray the f-word into the old man's open window wasn't helping anyone.

Increased road use but not road space means too many maddened lab rats on the maze of Seattle's roadways. Merge that with anger, profanity and summer road repairs, and what we've got here is a situation.

What we need here is Bill Murray telling us what he told Punxsutawney Phil in the movie "Groundhog Day": "Don't drive angry!"

It's as much a lesson in survival as a matter of civility, says Dr. Roland Maiuro, a University of Washington professor of psychiatry who runs the anger management program at Seattle's Harborview Medical Center.

A million more people will move to the region in the next 10 years…maybe half of them at the wheel.

"The forecast for a decrease in road rage is not good," Maiuro said.

Meanwhile, an open sluice pipe pours profanity from movies, television and everyday conversation these days. And still, we aren't numb. "Obscenity still means what it means," Maiuro said. The four-letter word of choice still says, 'I'm going to attack you in the worst possible way.'"

The person yelling heightens his own sense of danger. And the person on the receiving end gets an adrenaline rush, explains Richard Kirby. A lecturer in the UW's School of Business, he is working with nationally acclaimed road rage expert Leon James to find ways to tie peaceful driving techniques to high school driver's education.

In cars, we can't communicate with horns that say, "Sorry but I'm late for day care," or "Oops, I didn't signal," Kirby points out.

With tempers spiking, verbal abuse turns to physical attack. We gesture or even grab the driver identified as the enemy. Or worse, we reach into the glove box and grab a gun.

As in war, Maiuro says, language dehumanizes the object of aggression. Before a dog bites, it usually growls. Before drivers attack, they usually disrespect their target.

He's the Jerk in the Jeep. The Meathead in the Mercedes.

It's constructive that citations and fines of as much as $480 can be issued. They tell perpetrators of road rage that they'd better back off. But Maiuro says that isn't enough.

"We're having a major regional adjustment reaction," Maiuro said. "We're losing our way of life as we have known it, losing our space to move. And when you restrain someone, they don't tend to like it."

What to do?

On June 15, Kirby will talk to drivers education specialists from every high school in Idaho about the practical applications of "driver psychology." He hopes Washington state will be next.

His UW students have developed suggested public service spots such as "Cage the rage and arrive alive" that could pop up between songs on the radio.

But far better than slogans and citations is simply swearing off road rage every time you turn the ignition key, Kirby says.

The same way you can set the odometer before a trip, you can set your mind and your mood by saying something peaceful to yourself before pulling away from the curb.

It sounded too good to be true -- especially to the ears of a girl who learned to swear in the back seat of her dad's brand-new Buick in 20 miles of Montana road construction.

But since it figures that abusive language does fuel anger, it also figures that soothing language might have the opposite effect.

I've been trying it out the past couple of days.

The dawdler in front of me gabbing on his cell phone is still an idiot. But he won't hear it from me.

Mon, 7 Jun 1999

Subject: Kindly ask road rage to step out of the vehicle

Richard, nice article!!!

Leon

Tue, 8 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Feature article

Prof. James

Thanks for responding to my inquiries earlier. Your web site will prove very helpful with my article. I have a couple questions for you, and I'd be very appreciative of any response you can provide.

1) Do you think that those characteristics that define road rage may be applied to other forms of transportation, be it bicycling, jogging, rollerblading, or riding a riding mower?

2) Is the variance in "vehicles" in a public park (one which exhibits noted biker, jogger, blader frustrations) the main reason, or would the infrastructure be the culprit for such "path rage?"

3) Should bikers drive like they're in Hawaii...drive with aloha?

Just curious

Erich

Tue, 8 Jun 1999

Yes. Road rage has been observed in more and more social situations, with names such as "pedestrian rage" "bike rage" "surfer's rage" "air rage" "parking rage" "neighbor rage" and so on. In each case the phrase was coined in response to some violence that was related to crowding and aggressiveness in public places or spaces.

These situations all share two features: crowdedness and cynicism. If you couple crowdedness with civility and respect, you do not get rage. So the big factor is always cynicism, which can be defined as a cultural or learned disrespect. Children learn it while riding in their parents' car and watching aggressive driving scenes every day on TV (movies, cartoons, and commercials).

The solution is Lifelong Driver Education: K-12 and then Quality Driving Circles or QDCs for all drivers for as long as they maintain a valid license. See the details of my proposal here:

http://DrDriving.org/articles/qdc.htm

2) Is the variance in "vehicles" in a public park (one which exhibits noted biker, jogger, blader frustrations) the main reason, or would the infrastructure be the culprit for such "path rage?"

Road cynicism leads to territoriality and automotive vigilantism. Actions are interpreted symbolically as war signals. Road users are artificially split into warring tribes: 4-wheelers, semis, bikers, pedestrians, and cops. The hostility between cyclists and drivers in localized areas (such as the SF Bay Bridge bicycle marches and slow downs) result from this politicization of road users against each other. But it's an internecine war, brother against brother, sister against sister, and the same people usually are members of several groups: drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists.

3) Should bikers drive like they're in Hawaii...drive with aloha?

Yes. This means that you never take it personally when a confrontation arises. The one important thing to remember about anger in public places is that if you show it, you lose control over the situation since you don't know how the other is going to respond to your provocation. Forgive and forget. Dont' take it personally. You can't fix the problem on the road. Instead, use the political system to have an influence on how road users behave.

Well that's it Mr. B. Please send me a copy of your article or tell me where and when it's published. Thanks.

Leon James

DrDriving

Tue, 8 Jun 1999

Subject: Permission to use DrDriving's Three-Step Program to Hassle-Free Driving

Dear DrDriving,

I am requesting permission to use the information, workbooks and other pieces in your Three-Step Program to Hassle Free Driving. I work for the California State Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and am required to give a speech about Road Rage at our next Safety Meeting to be held on June 23, 1999. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. I am anxiously waiting to hear from you. If necessary, you may contact me at either one of the following two e-mail addresses or at (916) 227-1940 between 8:00 am and 4:30 pm Pacific Standard Time.

Thank you,

Helen J.

Tue, 8 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Permission to use DrDriving's Three-Step Program to Hassle-Free

Driving

Ms. H, I hereby grant permission for the purpose you request. Please give credit to my site and its address as DrDriving.org

Good luck!

Leon James

DrDriving

Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1999 05:34:58 -1000

From: e@aol.com
Subject: RE: Is there hope

I found your site when I was looking us rage. My husband just stormed out of the house again. His tactic for dealing with my yelling which is my reaction to his repeatedly bad timing for never getting family matters taken care of.

We will have been married for thirty years this August. My husband refuses to go to counseling, because all they want to do is talk about me. He refuses to accept that he is a major part of the problem and instead wants to fix me.

He says all he wants is respect and honestly I can't give him that because he is such a screw up.

Suggestions?

By the way, I plan to read all of your pages they really look interesting.

Wed, 9 Jun 1999

Subject: RE: Is there hope

Dear E,

I'm sorry about your being placed in such a miserable position by the man who should be protecting and cherishing your feelings and comforts. I know. How? Because I was (sometimes still am) like your husband. But since I committed to changing, I learned a lot on how to do it. You ask for advice, which I gladly give, with the warning that it may not work or may aggravate things, in the short run. So at your own risk:

1) Work with your husband's values, religious convictions, idealistic claims he makes about who and what he is: constantly and without let-up (takes bravery on your part, but if you're desperate...) face him with the contradiction between his action and his theory. This definitely brings pressure of one type that's needed to convince him to give up his self-destructiveness. (The way it works: husband destroys wife, thus destroying his own happiness, which is the goal. Disgusting and frightening!!)

2) Keep track of his objectionable behaviors, write them down, make lists, post them on your kitchen wall: 3 columns: Date and time; His behavior in specifics (e.g., ignored my request; yelled at me; forgot his promise to... etc); and How it makes you feel (e.g., I feel like he doesn't love me; I feel like dying; etc.) For more ideas see my list of confessions for husbands here:

http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/instructor/gloss/inventory1.html

3) Make the degree of your intimate availability to him as his wife contingent on his degree of showing repentance and treating you kindly. Don't go into explanations he can ridicule. Just do it and he'll get the idea gradually. It will influence him. But of course this is a delicate issue. You need to decide whether and how to use this suggestion.

Continue reading my documents on both sites and you'll gain strength and technique to handle him. This will save his life and spirit, so you're doing a good thing for him, a loving thing, by being tough and just, and making him live up to his obligations and sacred promises. Pray to God for strength and perseverance.

Write back later and let me know! I wish you success.

Leon James

DrDriving

Thu, 10 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Is there hope

Praise the Lord! I think you are a saint.

Thanks for your suggestion. I cannot tell you how many counselors (well 5 now that I count) have counseled divorce and no hope. What you say makes sense.

Thank you a million times over. Your reply was truly an answer to a prayer.

God Bless.

Thu, 10 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Is there hope

Thanks and God bless. This I believe: the Lord brings good out of every bad experience He does not prevent on account of His loving desire to protect your spiritual freedom and regeneration. All other bad experiences, He intercepts, foils, and prevents from happening. We are safe with Him!! No matter what. He always listens and answers your prayers. Remember He explained: if a parent is anxious to give the child what it needs and wants, so am I. There isn't a thought or sensation that He does not participate in with you, bending it, fixing it, straightening it, to the extent you allow in yourself, since He will not force you in order to protect your regeneration. We who know this secret can rest assured in the Peace of Sabbath, that is, in the quiet bosom of our beloved Lord.

Take care and have a nice day!

Leon James

Wed, 9 Jun 1999

Subject: automobile anthropomorphism

Dear Dr. Driving,

I e-mailed you a few months ago about a project I have been working on concerning automobile anthropomorphism. I am attaching the latest draft for you if you would like to see it. It is not quite as finished as I would like, but it is a start and some evidence for my thesis.

If you have any comments I'd be more than happy to hear them. If not,enjoy it.

Thanks,

Jamey

graduate student

Science and Technology Studies

Cornell University

Wed, 9 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: automobile anthropomorphism

Mr. W,

Your essay is excellent in content and in style. Congratulations. It really brings out and creates the topic of anthropomorphizing cars and other technological objects. I wonder if it's related to the idea of a "pet" so that those who see the car as a pet will naturally name it and even talk to it. Skinner calls this type of talk "superstitious behavior" but I don't think he understood it. I was amazed that so many people name their cars (hundreds of thousands it seems from what you said).

I'd like to publish your piece on my site. It will look like this:

http://DrDriving.org/misc/anthropomorph.html

Go see. And let me know if you don’t want that. If yes, do you want your name? I recommend that. And do you want your email button there or not?

Thanks for allowing me to see the piece. Fascinating. I'd like my students to read and discuss it. Possibly some of them might like to pursue it in some direction...

Leon James

DrDriving

Thu, 10 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: automobile anthropomorphism

Dear Leon James,

I am delighted that you found my automobile anthropomorphism paper interesting. It has not been an easy project because much of my background is in history and some sociology. Making the psychological links that I wanted to was difficult and I am still not sure how successfully I have done it.

At the present time I have no plans for this essay so I am happy to have you publish it on your website. You are welcome to include my name and an e-mail link for now. If the e-mail gets out of hand I might ask you to take it down, but I'm not terribly worried about that and would like to hear people's comments. I know that simply discussing the project with people was a great way to gather more data.

As for relating it to the idea of a "pet," that's something I'm still thinking about. Some who have read it don't like the word "friend." They think that some of the relationships are a little more distant than that. I think in actuality that there is more of a spectrum. It really depends on the specific case, but I do think that in many cases the idea of co-dependency is there.

I have been amazed by the number of people who have named their car as well. I started the project knowing about three people who had named their car and this gave me the confidence that there might be more. But I was completely unprepared for the number I found. As I began to talk to people I found that at least half of those I discussed the project with had named their car or were well aware of someone who did. One thing that interests me as that this isn't a widely acknowledged phenomenon and many people I spoke with had named their cars without knowing that others do it too. Telling them that it was fairly common gave some a sense of relief.

I'm glad you enjoyed the essay.

Sincerely,

Jamey

Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: automobile anthropomorphism

Thanks, Jameson! I added your email. If you save the messages, I can post them with your essay. Adds dimension to it. Makes it even more useful.

Thanks.

Leon James

Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999

Subject: random acts of kindness

I want to tell about a special act of kindness about 13 years ago. I was coming home after dark and was about 2 km onto the motorway away from a built up area when the fuse on my headlights blew. I had two young children, one a baby in the car. The area was completely unlit and it was another 8 km to the next turn off. All I had were the side lights on the left hand side and the tail lights were still working.. (This is a right hand drive country.) I indicated left and pulled over. Another car passed slowly and realized I was in trouble, tooted and moved slowly in front of me until I took note. They kept at a pace where I could stay behind them until I got the next turn off into a built up area, which as my home anyway. That way I could use their lights. I tooted and indicated that I was turning off and they tooted in reply. All I had was their registration number. The Traffic Department to whom I wrote about their kindness never let me know if they had been contacted to thank them for their help.

Alison

Sat, 12 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: random acts of kindness

Thanks for your story on the act of kindness. Warms my heart to hear it!

Leon James

DrDriving

Sat, 12 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: research

I have been talking with someone here about the prejudice in this country against drivers of asian and indian background, and they rounded that there is research confirming that people from those countries because of their early conditioning and less experience do have trouble with aptitude for driving and especially for dealing with speed. Can you comment one way or another, or do you know where I could read about this research?

Sorry Alison, I don't. I'll look around the Web. If you find anything do let me know. Thanks.

DrDriving

Sun, 13 Jun 1999

Subject: Question

Read through quite a bit of your article on road rage -- I actually ran across your study as I was searching for the Minimum Driving Age of Drivers in Hawaii. I live in California and the driving age is 16 w/ some restrictions.

My son, age 17, just moved to Hawaii to live with his father. Can you tell me, will he be allowed to drive at this age? If so, will he have to acquire a Hawaii license to do so.

I would appreciate a response as I am having a lot of difficulty finding this info on the internet.

Thanks.

Mon, 14 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Question

My son, age 17, just moved to Hawaii to live with his father. Can you tell me, will he be allowed to drive at this age? If so, will he have to acquire a Hawaii license to do so.

Try this site:

http://www.honolulupd.org/index.html

Sun, 13 Jun 1999

Subject: road rage...

I first want to thank you for having this wonderful site of "Random Acts..." stories! Thanks!

I have a story and then a "thank you"..

In 1994, I drove from San Diego, almost non-stop to Michigan. In Chicago, I was literally chased by a trucker, who made it very clear that he would drive right over the top of my little Audi if I didn't get away from him! I don't know if or what I might have done to him to cause him to behave that way, I just know that I was scared... literally for my life. It could have been something as simple as the rainbow sticker on my bumper, who knows?

I was taught, as a teenager (a LOT of years ago) about the truckers' ways of giving courtesy to each other and to other drivers who knew the "hints". To the trucker who wrote his story about the courteous "four-wheeler", I say, "THANKS!" to all the truckers, bus drivers and others who would click their brights after I passed them to let me know that it was safe to pull back in to their lane!! To the courteous drivers that say "thanks" by clicking on and off their running lights,

THANK YOU!

More times than not, in my 30+ years of driving, have I seen the courtesy of other drivers greatly outweigh the "road rage" that seems to be more prevalent today. So, for all of you reading this, because you WANT to be a courteous driver (probably MOST who are here), THANK YOU! >From the bottom of my *still in my body* heart! :-)

Kevin M.

Mon, 14 Jun 1999

Subject: Use of Information

I am a Driver Education Instructor at Spooner High School in Spooner, WI.

I am requesting permission to use the information on your website about Children Against Road Rage for instructional purposes.

Thank you for your consideration

Karen

Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Use of Information

Ms. S, I give permission provided you describe specifically the parts and their use. Of course, permission for commercial use of any kind is limited and requires an Agreement. Having said that, I'm delighted that you find the CARR workbook useful for your activities. I hope you can give me feedback so I can improve it. Especially on how the children react and understand the message. You're one of the first few people who have seen it and want to use it. Thanks!

Leon James

"Dr Driving"

Tue, 15 Jun 1999

Subject: Road Rage

I am researching road rage for a speech I am going to give. Your name keeps popping up as an authority on road rage. I visited your home page and copied a number of the articles you have written on the subject. I hope to obtain some current statistics from NHTSA and more information from AAA. I really want to make a memorable speech!! Any helpful hints would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. A local Highway Patrol Officer told me "If you want to avoid road rage - leave Miami!!! Thought you might appreciate that comment. Thanks again.

Wed, 16 Jun 1999

Subject: From South Africa

Hi Dr James

I work for a television actuality program loosely based on ABC's 60 minutes. I have a really tight deadline but am going for a really long shot here. I am looking for any psychologists in South Africa who deal directly with victims or perpetrators of road rage. I would really like to get hold of South African case studies for an interview within the next two days. Should you have anyone in mind, please e-mail me at carteblanche@pix.za

Thank you for your time

Clayton
Carte-Blanche journalist

Subject: Re: From South Africa

I don't know if this is of interest to you but have a look at an Independent Online website article which talks about a road rage killing in Cape Town, South Africa. The address is www.inc.co.za

Dr Driving

Thu, 17 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: From South Africa

Thanks for the prompt response Leon. I must tell you that this inhumane bludgeoning (with a hockey stick) in Cape Town occurred on Monday and is precisely why we are doing the story. But so as to demonstrate that this incident in Cape Town is not an isolated one I would also like to find other case studies hence my appeal from you.

Thank you for your interest and help

Clayton

Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: From South Africa

http://www.canoe.ca/

This will have a story tomorrow of an Edmonton Canada UPS driver stabbed to death in a road rage dispute.

DrDriving

Wed, 16 Jun 1999

Subject: Information

I don't know if this is of interest to you but have a look at an Independent Online website article which talks about a road rage killing in Cape Town, South Africa. The address is www.inc.co.za

Wed, 16 Jun 1999

Subject: Personality survey results

Hi,

Brilliant website, interesting content ... I'm just finding my way around having discovered it yesterday.

The personality test (survey3) was interesting, I answered and now I'm reading through the results page. One of the first items on the results page "worries" about our thinking of the other driver as an "idiot". From a psychology point of view this might be a problem. But assuming that the other driver might be an idiot is a most important part of advanced driver training.

So our inexperienced drivers see the others as idiots in a sort of confrontational (I don't care about him: he's an idiot) way. And our experienced drivers see the others as idiots when planning the risk factor of another's behavior.

So either way they're going to stay idiots? Right?

Best Regards,

Paul
North Scotland

Wed, 16 Jun 1999

Subject: Aggressive driver reporting in Massachusetts

Hi,

I've read parts of your congressional testimony and would first like to commend you on your research and attention to such a critical area of society today.

We live in Boston: probably a frequently heard city by you for aggressive drivers. Our aggressive driver ratio is probably one of the highest in the country, if not the world.

This morning, I was in an unfortunate situation with an aggressive driver. While I was driving my wife to work (who just recently broke her foot) to her downtown Boston place of employment at the Department of Public Health, we were driving straight on an intersection in front of the Massachussetts Statehouse when a driver tried to cut us off in the middle of the intersection. The driver then proceeded to open his window, yell obscenities and threaten me in the intersection. After traffic started moving I proceeded to continue straight and he drove right in front of me, tapping my car, which moved his left-mirror. He then proceeded to stop the car, get out, and started yelling at me and provoking me. I did not return any of the aggression but warned him to move away from the car since my wife and I were nervous about our safety. After a few moments, he returned to his car as I proceeded to pick up the cell phone and told him I was calling the police. He then drove off in front.

Needless to say, the police were unresponsive, telling me to cal the DMV, which only had a recorded voice. After dropping her off, I noticed a Mass State trooper and proceeded to tell him the license and make info. He said if there was anything habitual on his record (bad driving, many tickets, etc) he would follow up with it. He was helpful, but I could tell that aside from that there was not much he could do. I do know that there is a big push for getting aggressive drivers in our state, put I cannot find an avenue to report this. Do you have any information on this? If so, could you direct me to it?

Thanks!

Sincerely,

Andy

Wed, 16 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Your ProfNet query Road Rude

Forwarding reporter's reply to my response (below) to this ProfNet query.

FYI.

Donne

**23. ROAD RUDE - BELLA-ONLINE.NET. The pop term is "road rage," but most of it seems just plain "road rude", or "me first." Seeking comments from the pros in the field, please. Bella-Online.net, a Web sit geared to women, will be launched in late summer.

Susan

From Donne, PIO

U of Hawaii Psychology Prof Leon James is a well known expert on road rage. As "Dr. Driving" he maintains a web site with a quiz to help visitors figure out (and defuse) their own driving hot buttons. Here's how to reach Dr. Driving. (it's three hours earlier here than Pacific Daylight Time, six hours earlier than Eastern Daylight Time.)

Aloha!

Wed, 16 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Your ProfNet query Road Rude

To Donne,

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Since the article will be published on a web site, I shall include Dr. Driving's URL, of course -- probably include a link straight to his site.

Susan

Wed, 16 Jun 1999

Subject: Elevator Rage

Dear Dr. James,

I am a columnist for a magazine in New York called "Time Out New York" and am working on a piece on elevator etiquette. I've been reading with interest your congressional testimony on road rage and was wondering what, if any, similarities you see between the kinds of frustration people experience in cars and elevators. Do you feel that any of your recommendations could be applied to a city in which we spend more time as passengers than drivers?

I look forward to your thoughts.

Brett

Thu, 17 Jun 1999

Subject: Re: Elevator Rage

Mr. M,

Thanks for writing. I agree with you that there might be, I would say—there probably is--a connection between road rage and other forms such as metro rage and elevator rage. I have a site for "pedestrian rage" you might like to check out at:

http://DrDriving.org/safecrossing.html

Metro rage and elevator rage are both "culture tantrums" which is a term I often use for road rage and pedestrian rage. These are its components:

1) Generational upbringing (observing parents behave that way; observing TV characters behave that way). "That way" means without civility, or suspending the normal rules of civility. "Normal" in the sense of what we usually and normally do. Another way of saying this: We give ourselves permission to suspend the normal rules of civility. When that happens, rage behavior is being performed.

2) What allows us to suspend the rules of civility from time to time? This is the clincher, if you want to understand social expressions of rage. According to my research and observations on the thoughts and feelings of people on their daily round of activities, these are the conditions under which we suspend normal rules of civility:

a) A social philosophy of cynicism must already exist.

And we know it does. If you want to know the specific ways New Yorkers confess to lack of civility while driving, go to this file that reports my road rage results, and give the Command Find for "New York":

http://DrDriving.org/surveys/survey2/interpretations.html

You may enjoy reading a news article in The Seattle Times on how road rage and Washington's Rule of Civility are related. See here:

http://www.seattletimes.com/extra/browse/html97/altmalk_072297.html

b) A sense of alienation or being disentitled in some way

For instance in lines, metro crowd, elevator crowd, mall crowd, passageway crowd--people in those situations have their expectations violated. They feel they've been robbed of what they are entitled, and what they have been promised. An elevator that gets stuck, or too crowded for comfort, or takes too long to come, etc.: these are the violations of one's expectations leading to a sense of disentitlement, hence alienation.

Now combine (a) and (b) to get dynamite rage: cynicism and disentitlement. For many people whose social inhibition against violence has been weakened, this combination of cynicism and disentitlement is the opportunity they choose to suspend the normal rules of civility.

Finally, you might like to know what I think about solutions