Duane Stanford - Staff

(...)

Research shows 82 percent of all drivers believe they are safer than the average driver. Of course, Goodie said, simple statistics will tell you that only half could actually be above average.

The fact is that people are good at making excuses for their behavior.

"Our own mistakes are chalked up to external factors: I was under stress, I was responding to that other person's carelessness," said Goodie.

However, when someone else makes a mistake, we tell ourselves it's because of some inherent characteristic in that person, Goodie said. They're stupid. Or they're lousy drivers.

"It's easier to become angry with an inherent jerk than with someone who faces challenges that aren't their fault, so we get angrier with others who make mistakes in traffic than we get with ourselves," Goodie said.

Bottom line: I make mistakes. You foul up.

Even worse is that driver who gets angry when the person behind him gives a friendly tap of the horn to let him know the traffic signal is green.

Psychologists call it "attribution bias."

"It means we are biased toward ourselves when it comes to affixing blame," said Leon James, a University of Hawaii professor and researcher who has been studying aggressive driving for 20 years.

Rather than chastising ourselves, we transfer the blame to that pesky jerk behind us.

James (who is also known by his media persona, Dr. Driving) says attribution bias is a natural but selfish tendency, even a character flaw. It also signals aggressive driving, which can easily spin into that catch phrase we all know, "road rage."

At best, you're creating useless stress, and that's bad for your health. At worst, that guy who honked at the light might shoot you.

James, who has co-written a book about road rage and is a self-described aggressive driver in recovery, has come up with a three-step way for people to put themselves on the couch for treatment.

1) Acknowledge --- Admit to yourself that you are an aggressive driver. In other words, you are not a victim of others' stupidity. You are the problem.

2) Witness --- Recognize what makes you angry and when. How do you react in such situations?

3) Modify --- Decide how to react differently and practice it, one instance at a time. Don't worry about making a drastic change all at once. For example, when someone isn't paying attention at the light, you make an excuse for him and let that guy off the hook.

And James has this warning for aggressive drivers with children in the car: "They are now training the next generation of road ragers."

For more from Dr. Driving, go to www.drdriving.org.

By: Biana Ferrer

Several students were the victims of air rage this summer when passenger Markus Peter Straubenmuller repeatedly assaulted them mid-flight from Madrid, Spain to Miami, Florida.

“He kept kicking my chair until he eventually broke it, pulled my hair, threw money, pillows, bottles, and cigarettes, spit on the floor and on my chair, and swung at Sr. Regina,” said senior Vanessa DeHuelbes. “Then he unzipped his pants, exposed himself, and urinated everywhere including my chair.”

Such an attack is something researchers and doctors are calling air rage. According to AirSafe.com, air rage is outrageous misconduct by passengers that may place crewmembers and passengers at risk. Excessive alcohol consumption, smoking bans, crowding, and long flights contribute to why passengers may break into this rage.

Cristie Castellanos, another senior on board, explained how she and DeHuelbes complained early in the flight about Straubenmuller’s rowdy behavior but said no action was taken by flight attendants. “Only until he threw a cup of liquor and almost hit a man on the plane was immediate action taken,” said Castellanos. “A male flight attendant came over and told him to calm down, but there was never an attempt to take away the liquor he had,” she said.

Miami police arrested Straubenmuller as soon as he stepped off the plane until the FBI arrived and took the case. He was detained from his connecting flight and held with a bond of $750,000 until his hearing.

(...)

Air rage is a growing concern for officials and passengers. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cites 1,173 such incidents since 1995. According to the International Air Transport Association, there were approximately 5,500 incidents worldwide in 1997 alone. Many are seeking precautions to minimize the chances of encountering air rage.

(...)

Up for vote in Congress is the Passenger’s Bill of Rights. Is passed, this bill would require airlines to refund passengers twice the amount of their ticket if they are delayed on the runway for two or more hours, require airlines to explain why a flight is cancelled or delayed, and ensure passengers a refund if their flight is cancelled, along with other passenger benefits.

In a recent Internet article, Leon James, Ph.D. and Diane Nahl, Ph.D. have studied air rage and believe passengers can take action as well. When traveling they recommend that one bring something of comfort such as a blanket or pillow. Forming a mini-support group with another passenger is encourages in case a problem arises. James and Nahl also suggest traveling with a positive attitude, coping tricks, and alternate scenarios worked out if one’s plans are altered.

(...)

original here

Date: 1997-06-02

Copyright U.S.News & World report

Tailgating, giving the finger, outright violence—Americans grow more likely to take out their frustrations on other drivers Some of the incidents are so ludicrous you can't help but laugh--albeit nervously. There was the case in Salt Lake City, where 75-year-old J. C. King--peeved that 41-year-old Larry Remm Jr. honked at him for blocking traffic--followed Remm when he pulled off the road, hurled his prescription bottle at him, and then, in a display of geriatric resolve, smashed Remm's knees with his '92 Mercury. In tony Potomac, Md., Robin Ficker--an attorney and ex-state legislator--knocked the glasses off a pregnant woman after she had the temerity to ask him why he bumped her Jeep with his.

Other incidents lack even the element of black humor. In Colorado Springs, 55-year-old Vern Smalley persuaded a 17-year-old boy who had been tailgating him to pull over; Smalley decided that, rather than merely scold the lad, he would shoot him. (And he did. Fatally--after the youth had threatened him.) And last year, on Virginia's George Washington Parkway, a dispute over a lane change was settled with a high-speed duel that ended when both drivers lost control and crossed the center line, killing two innocent motorists.

(...)

Fear of (and participation in) aggressive driving has grown so much that in a poll last year residents of Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia listed it as a bigger concern than drunk driving. The Maryland highway department is running a campaign called "The End of the Road for Aggressive Drivers," which, among other things, flashes anti-road-rage messages on electronic billboards on the interstates. Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey have initiated special highway patrols targeting aggressive drivers. A small but busy community of therapists and scholars has arisen to study the phenomenon and counsel drivers on how to cope. And several members of Congress are now trying to figure out ways to legislate away road rage.

Lest one get unduly alarmed, it helps to put the AAA study's numbers in context: Approximately 250,000 people have been killed in traffic since 1990. While the U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that two thirds of fatalities are at least partially caused by aggressive driving, the AAA study found only 218 that could be directly attributable to enraged drivers. Of the more than 20 million motorists injured, the survey identified 12,610 injuries attributable to aggressive driving. While the study is the first American attempt to quantify aggressive driving, it is not rigorously scientific. The authors drew on reports from 30 newspapers--supplemented by insurance claims and police reports from 16 cities--involving 10,037 occurrences. Moreover, the overall trendlines for car accidents have continued downward for several decades, thanks in part to increases in the drinking age and improvements in car technology like high-mounted brake lights.

(...)

In focus groups set up by her organization, two thirds of drivers said they reacted to frustrating situations aggressively. Almost half admitted to deliberately braking suddenly, pulling close to the other car, or taking some other potentially dangerous step. Another third said they retaliated with a hostile gesture. Drivers show great creativity in devising hostile responses. Doug Erber of Los Angeles keeps his windshield-wiper-fluid tank full. If someone tailgates, he turns on the wipers, sending fluid over his roof onto the car behind him. "It works better than hitting the brakes," he says, "and you can act totally innocent."

Mad Max

While the AAA authors note there is a profile of the lethally inclined aggressive driver--"relatively young, poorly educated males who have criminal records, histories of violence, and drug or alcohol problems"--road-rage scholars (and regular drivers) believe other groups are equally represented in the less violent forms of aggressive driving. To some, it's tempting to look at this as a psychologically mysterious Jekyll-and-Hyde phenomenon; for others, it's simply attributable to "jerk drivers." In reality, there's a confluence of emotional and demographic factors that changes the average citizen from mere motorist to Mad Max.

First, it isn't just your imagination that traffic is getting worse. Since 1987, the number of miles of roads has increased just 1 percent while the miles driven have shot up by 35 percent. According to a recent Federal Highway Administration study of 50 metropolitan areas, almost 70 percent of urban freeways today--as opposed to 55 percent in 1983--are clogged during rush hour. The study notes that congestion is likely to spread to currently unspoiled locations. Forty percent of the currently gridlock-free Milwaukee County highway system, for example, is predicted to be jammed up more than five hours a day by the year 2000. A study by the Texas Transportation Institute last year found that commuters in one third of the largest cities spent well over 40 hours a year in traffic jams.

Part of the problem is that jobs have shifted from cities to suburbs. Communities designed as residential suburbs with narrow roads have grown into "edge cities," with bustling commercial traffic. Suburb-to-suburb commutes now account for 44 percent of all metropolitan traffic versus 20 percent for suburb-to-downtown travel. Demographer and Edge City author Joel Garreau says workers breaking for lunch are essentially causing a third rush hour. He notes that in Tysons Corner, Va., it takes an average of four traffic signal cycles to get through a typical intersection at lunchtime. And because most mass transit systems are of a spoke-and-hub design, centering on cities and branching out to suburbs, they're not really useful in getting from point A to point B in an edge city or from one edge city to another. Not surprisingly, fewer people are relying on mass transit and more on cars. In 1969, 82.7 percent drove to work; in 1990, 91.4 percent did. Despite the fact that the Washington, D.C., area has an exemplary commuter subway system, it accounts for only 2 percent of all trips made.

Demographic changes have helped put more drivers on the road. Until the 1970s, the percentage of women driving was relatively low, and many families had only one car. But women entered the work force and bought cars, something developers and highway planners hadn't foreseen. From 1969 to 1990 the number of women licensed to drive increased 84 percent. Between 1970 and 1987, the number of cars on the road more than doubled. In the past decade, the number of cars grew faster (17 percent) than the number of people (10 percent). Even carpooling is down despite HOV lanes and other preferential devices. The cumulative effect, says University of Hawaii traffic psychology professor Leon James, is a sort of sensory overload. "There are simply more cars--and more behaviors--to deal with," says James.

As if the United States couldn't produce enough home-grown lousy drivers, it seems to be importing them as well. Experts believe that many immigrants come from countries that have bad roads and aggressive styles. It's not just drivers from Third World countries, though. British drivers are considered among the safest in Europe, yet recent surveys show that nearly 90 percent of British motorists have experienced threats or abuse from other drivers. Of Brits who drive for a living, about 21 percent report having been run off the road. In Australia, one study estimates that about half of all traffic accidents there may be due to road rage. "There are different cultures of driving all over the world--quite clearly, if we mix new cultures in the melting pot, what we get is a culture clash on the roadway," says John Palmer, a professor in the Health Education and Safety Department at Minnesota's St. Cloud State University.

(...)

Unfortunately, roads are getting more congested just as Americans feel even more pressed for time. "People get on a time line for their car trips," says Palmer. "When they perceive that someone is impeding their progress or invading their agenda, they respond with what they consider to be 'instructive' behavior, which might be as simple as flashing their lights to something more combative."

Suburban assault vehicles

This, uh, "instruction" has become more common, Palmer and others speculate, in part because of modern automotive design. With hyperadjustable seats, soundproof interiors, CD players, and cellular phones, cars are virtually comfortable enough to live in. Students of traffic can't help but wonder if the popularity of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles has contributed to the problem. Sales have approximately doubled since 1990. These big metal shells loom over everything else, fueling feelings of power and drawing out a driver's more primal instincts. "A lot of the anecdotal evidence about aggressive driving incidents tends to involve people driving sport utility vehicles," says Julie Rochman of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "When people get these larger, heavier vehicles, they feel more invulnerable." While Chrysler spokesman Chris Preuss discounts the notion of suburban assault vehicles being behind the aggressive-driving phenomenon, he does say women feel more secure in the jumbo-size vehicles.

(...)

How can aggressive driving be minimized? Some believe that better driver's education might help. Driver's ed was a high school staple by the 1950s, thanks to federal highway dollars given to states. But a 1978 government study in De Kalb County, Ga., found no reduction in crashes or traffic violations by students who took a driver's ed course compared with those who didn't. Rather than use these results to design better driver's ed programs, the feds essentially gave up on them and diverted money to seat belt and anti-drunk-driving programs. Today, only 40 percent of new drivers complete a formal training course, which may be one reason 20 percent to 35 percent of applicants fail their initial driving test.

The inner driver

But governments are looking anew at the value of driver's education. In April, Michigan passed sweeping rules that grant levels of privilege depending on one's age and driving record. States with similar systems, like California, Maryland, and Oregon, have seen teen accident rates drop.

Those who lose their licenses often have to return to traffic school. But some states have generous standards for these schools. To wit: California's theme schools. There, errant drivers can attend the "Humor's My Name, Traffic's My Game," school, in which a mock jury led by a stand-up comic decides who the worst drivers are; the "Traffic School for Chocoholics," which plies errant drivers with chocolate and ice cream; and the gay and lesbian "Pink Triangle Traffic School."

But the real key to reducing road rage probably lies deep within each of us. Professor James of the University of Hawaii suggests that instead of emphasizing defensive driving--which implies that the other driver is the enemy--we should focus on "supportive driving" or "driving with the aloha spirit." Of course that's hard to do if a) someone has just cut you off at 60 mph or b) you live in Los Angeles instead of Hawaii.

Nerenberg, the Los Angeles psychologist, has published an 18-page booklet called "Overcoming Road Rage: The 10-Step Compassion Program" He recommends examining what sets off road rage and to "visualize overcoming it." Other tips: Imagine you might be seeing that person at a party soon. And remember that other drivers "are people with feelings. Let us not humiliate them with our aggression." In the chapter titled, "Peace," he suggests, "Take a deep breath and just let it go." And if that doesn't work, the windshield-wiper trick is pretty clever.

With Anna Mulrine, Mary Lord, Brendan I. Koerner, Barbra Murray, and Steven D. Kaye

original here

Were you as startled as we were to read about how much more aggressive Honolulu drivers are becoming?

Advertiser staff writer Brandon Masuoka reports that we are running more red lights and stop signs, cutting off other motorists, tailgating and switching lanes without signaling.

From 1997 to 1998, citations for these and other “aggressive driving behaviors” increased 34 percent, according to HPD statistics.

These offenders aren’t people we don’t know. They are us.

“The average driver receives one ticket every three years, after committing and getting away with more than 2,000 traffic violations,” reports Leon James, a psychology teacher at the University of Hawaii, on his Web site (www.drdriving.org). “Aggressive driving is now the most common way of driving.”

Aggressive driving leads to road rage, fabled on Mainland urban freeways and now rearing its ugly head here.

“Road rage,” according to James, “is the inability to let go of the desire to retaliate and punish the other driver. How it is expressed depends on personality and situation.”

On its valuable Web site (www.honolulupd.org), HPD has these suggestions for staying clear of aggressive driving situations and those prone to road rage:

Plan you routes in advance and leave early so you won’t have to rush. Practice defensive driving techniques (no one “wins” in a collision). Call 911 to report dangerous drivers. Control your temper. Don’t underestimate the other driver’s potential for aggression. Get out of his or her way. Do not challenge the driver. Avoid making eye contact. Ignore obscene gestures. Make sure your seat belt is fastened. With the increased traffic typical of the holiday season coming up, it behooves all of us to get a grip, slow down and drive with aloha.

original here

Compiled from Staff and Wire reports

In the virtual worlds of auto-racing games, drivers tear around freeways and race courses to beat the clock or other drivers at speeds more than twice and three times actual highway limits.

Speedsters in video games ranging from cartoon-wacky to movie-quality realistic ram other cars off the road and defy the laws of physics and society to reach the finish line.

In most of these games, drivers don't die in crashes. And players never get hurt. Or do they?

Some experts suggest a possible connection between adrenaline-charged racing video games and real-life aggressive driving.

The popularity of such games with youngsters - and the fear that teens might not shed their virtual driving habits when learning to drive on the real road - troubles some parents and psychologists. But many believe the example set by parents behind the wheel and the attitude of those giving driving lessons have greater influence.

"I believe (driving games) can be harmful for many people," says Leon James, a psychologist at the University of Hawaii and an expert on driver psychology and road rage. "Aggressive acts during driving can increase in both frequency and intensity as a result of the effect of playing violent games."

James says the need-for-speed mind-set of seemingly harmless racing video games can be dangerously carried over to the driver's seat of real automobiles, and perhaps even contribute to the future driving habits of children. "Anything that you practice lowers the threshold for that behavior. Those who play games that allow them to express hostile acts as a driver practice the violence in their emotions and in their thoughts."

James also worries about the messages these video games may convey to the younger generation. He believes road rage is a habit acquired in childhood, that children are raised "in a car culture that condones irate expressions as part of the normal wear and tear of driving."

Children learn from their parents that once someone is behind the wheel of a car, the rules change: Suddenly it's acceptable to get upset, lose control, use bad language.

"Something must be done," says James. "Perhaps after playing the game, they should stop and assess their emotions and conscience by asking themselves, How would real people feel if I did this to them?'"

Some believe education and experience are the best ways to provide a distinction between real driving and the simulated experiences of video games. Pearl Williams has been a driving instructor in Daytona Beach for one year. Before that, she was a Florida driver's license examiner for 14 years.

Williams said whether or not a person becomes an aggressive driver depends more on the attitude of the person who teaches them to drive than influences of video games. "A person getting behind the wheel for the first time not only lacks technical experience, but also doesn't have the intuition and judgment it takes to drive. What's important is teaching them to clear their minds before getting behind the wheel and to always drive defensively."

Defensive driving was introduced in 1964 by the National Safety Council. Taught by certified instructors only, defensive driving courses give drivers tips on preventing collisions.

Williams said she thinks negative emotions the young driver may be feeling at the time are the main cause of road rage. "If you're in a good mood, you tend to overlook annoying things that other people do. But if you're in a bad mood, you tend to take those things personally."

Williams insisted that video games have little or no influence on a person's driving habits. She said the most important factor in producing a safe driver is making sure kids have enough experience before getting on the road.

"When I worked as an examiner, I saw so many children come in to take the test knowing absolutely nothing about driving. It's easy to read a book and memorize the rules, but what's most important is having enough experience to drive safely on your own."

Staff Writer Aninja Molock contributed to this report

original here

By Andrew J. Pulskamp, CPNet Staff

It's quite easy to push the pedal to the metal, flip off that tailgater and scream a string of obscenities at no one in particular while you're driving. It's also easy for that tailgater to get out of his or her car at the next light and start threatening you. Road rage is becoming increasingly common on America's streets and highways and though college students may be the victims of it, often times they are the aggressors.

"We want to retaliate and punish this person and let them know they've done something wrong and make sure they're not going to get away with it."
LEON JAMES,
social psychologist, University of Hawaii

Leon James, a social psychologist at the University of Hawaii who is also a traffic psychologist known as Dr. Driving, says, "Even though incidences of road rage are rare in the newspapers -- there might be a thousand a year, millions of aggressive exchanges take place on the roads every day." In extreme cases of road rage, people can end up dead - or their passengers can.

(...)

Although the perpetrators in none of these instances were college-age, James says college students are among a segment of the population that comprises the most aggressive drivers. Basically in the world of road rage, the younger the driver the more aggressive. James explains; "In college, students still have a tendency to act like teenagers in that they take a lot of risks. The question is when do we learn as drivers not to take risks? That's after the college years."

(...)

Age isn't the only factor in aggressive driving. James' research also shows that being a road hog has a lot to do with gender and what kind of car a person drives.

James says, in general, men are more aggressive drivers than women. And as far as cars go, if the highways were oceans then sports cars, trucks and sports utility vehicles would be the sharks, whereas economy cars, family cars and vans would be the angel fish.

There are no hard-line explanations as to why different cars are driven more or less aggressively, but James thinks most likely there are multiple factors at play. It might have to do with the idea that more aggressive people are drawn to certain cars, and it could also mean that certain vehicles make drivers feel more aggressive. After all it's easier to feel like the king of the road when one is cruising around in a Ford Explorer rather than a Dodge Neon.

"I've gotten irritated with drivers, especially when I'm running late. ...People going below the speed limit and people who turn on their turn signal and never turn it off."
ALLISON RICHARDS,
University of Arkansas student

Driving for most folks is a very personal thing, which means emotions run high. "Driving is a particularly dramatic and challenging experience for most people," James says. "Things happen fast and whatever happens could cost you money and physical injury."

When people feel threatened on the roads their first instinct is to lash out. James offers, "We want to retaliate and punish this person and let them know they've done something wrong and make sure they're not going to get away with it. We may want to prove that we're not a wimp. There are a thousand reasons and all of them are cultural."

(...)

"When something happens that threatens you, you are challenged emotionally to respond. But you have to respond intelligently rather than provocatively," says James.

One way to behave intelligently is to drive defensively. Be on the lookout for others who might be on the edge. James has created a list of behaviors that correlate to aggressive driving syndrome, which can be a precursor to road rage.

Signs of Aggressive Driving

1. Drivers who speed.
2. Drivers who yell at other drivers.
3. Drivers who make a lot of insulting gestures or honk a lot.
4. Drivers who tailgate and cut people off.

James says it's best not to retaliate when you're behind the wheel. Patience is the key to avoiding road rage, but such a virtue can be hard to come by when one is behind the wheel, especially considering that most drivers have their own traffic pet peeves. Those little things that can light a fire beneath bedraggled commuters.

(...)

Commuters' top pet peeves, according to James, are putting on the turn signal long before they need to, cutting off someone then slowing down, tailgating, aggressive braking or acceleration and late merging.

"I discovered a whole new world while talking on my tape recorder. I was swearing a lot. ...I got angry and really hostile. I was yelling at people."
LEON JAMES,
social psychologist, University of Hawaii

All these behaviors do nothing but agitate drivers. But do not retaliate. One has to take a step back when these behaviors emerge on the highway. James says the first step to changing a driver's warlike ways on the road is to take a look in the mirror. It's not always the other guy's fault.

"Just like an alcoholic has to acknowledge that they have a problem, traffic emotions need to be acknowledged," says James. He also says a lot of people don't even realize how they're behaving on the roads. One way to find out is to record yourself on the next commute.

"I discovered a whole new world while talking on my tape recorder. I was swearing a lot, and I don't swear, I'm against it for religious reasons. I got angry and really hostile. I was yelling at people and behaving very negatively," James says.

Along with taking personal responsibility, James also proposes a policy of lifetime driver education to combat the enormous negative education that drivers have received from the first moment they were placed in a car. He says learning how to behave on the roads starts with examples set by mom and dad and from watching those edge-of-your-seat car chases in the movies and on T.V.

Ultimately the way to combat the highway mania that has taken hold of many drivers is just to be nice and courteous. And though the likes of Madonna and others have encouraged students to express themselves, James doesn't always think this is the best idea when on the road.

He says, "Most students believe it's better to express anger than to hold it in. That's a big mistake. When you express your anger you basically multiply it. Expressing it is like putting your anger in an amplifier. It's not that holding it in is what matters, but it's better to transform it and turn it into something positive."

Little evidence backs notion of an epidemic

BY DAVID ZEMAN Free Press Staff Writer

Alarming statistics and feverish headlines have fed the view that road rage is a national epidemic.

"Road Rage: We're Driven to Destruction," read one Newsweek headline. "All Drivers Feel Impact of Road Rage," a Free Press headline said last year.

But underlying the hype is a dearth of evidence supporting the notion that Americans are driving more aggressively than in the past.

Indeed, evidence suggests that traffic injury and fatality rates are going down across the country. In Michigan, which does not track road-rage incidents, the number of tickets given out by State Police for careless or reckless driving declined from 1995 to 1997.

"Road rage has been mostly fueled by the media," said Howard Fienberg, a research analyst at the nonprofit Statistical Assessment Service in Washington, D.C. "If you give people the term road rage, which is not defined anywhere, they react to it and associate it with just about anything."

The term, which first appeared in the late 1980s, has gradually broadened over the years. It was initially used to describe physical confrontations between motorists, but has expanded to include verbal exchanges, gestures, honking, light-flashing and serial lane-changing.

The media soon latched on. The Nexis media database recorded four citations of road rage in 1988, a figure that grew to 279 in 1995 and 1,887 last year.

An August article in the Atlantic Monthly examined a widely quoted study by the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety, which found a 60-percent increase nationally in aggressive driving between 1990 and 1996.

The magazine concluded the study was "hardly scientific," with much of the research drawing on media accounts and reports from a handful of police departments.

Still, some experts who have studied road rage argue that the dangers to motorists have increased.

"I think drivers are more challenged now because there are more cars and more congestion and more hostility," said University of Hawaii professor Leon James, who teaches traffic psychology and is known on the Web as Dr. Driving.

James said on-line surveys show motorists view themselves as more aggressive than in the past and more scared of fellow drivers than 10 years ago. He also points to television and movie images, which he said tend to glamorize "drivers behaving badly."

(...)

original here

Jon Ferry --The Province

Snap, crackle, pop. The days have long gone when you could drive a motor vehicle while munching on a bowl of cereal, as one Vancouver driver was discovered doing recently.

Modern motoring and modern motor cars have become so complex you almost need a degree to be able to drive.

Indeed, if there is one subject we should be teaching our children from the earliest possible age, it is how to be a good motorist -- not how to love the Nisga'a treaty.

Driver education, including the psychology of motoring, should be a compulsory school subject from kindergarten to Grade 12, just like math and English. It should be a degree course at university.

We hear a lot about the evils of drugs and other crime. But, car crashes cause far greater carnage, killing 3,000 Canadians and injuring another 240,000 each year.

Most of that mayhem is caused by bad, emotionally-challenged drivers. So there is very little that is funny about "road rage," in which righteously-indignant motorists become so disturbed by real or imagined slights from other drivers, their brains explode into mush like shattered pumpkins, causing irrevocable havoc.

If there ever was a bright side to road rage, however, it was contained in a Reuters news agency story last week about raging California grannies.

An 88-year-old woman had pulled into a handicapped parking space at a Santa Clara hospital. Unhappily, it was the same space into which a 67-year-old lady had been waiting to squeeze, while bringing her 98-year-old mom in for an appointment.

The 67-year-old female knocked on the window of the 88-year-old's vehicle, but the older woman was hard of hearing and ignored her. Outside the car, some pushing and shoving ensued and the older woman hit the pavement.

When the smoke cleared, the 88-year-old was in hospital with a broken hip, the 67-year-old was awaiting news of possible criminal charges and the 98-year-old was a potential witness.

The fact is road rage -- or parking lot rage -- involves people of all ages and all nationalities, not just aggressive Americans.

Handicapped parking spaces bring out the worst in Canadians too. An Edmonton driver called Dave boasted on the Internet about using his one-ton van to ram a taxi driver who refused to budge from just such a space.

"It cost him $2,700 for repairs and he was out of service for three months," Dave said.

Can you imagine what he'd have done if the cabbie had cut him off? Run him over and left him to die?

We Canadians like to think of ourselves as a kinder, gentler people than Americans. We are anything but, according to an ongoing study of nasty driver habits by road rage expert Leon James, a Canadian psychology professor now teaching at the University of Hawaii.

James's on-line survey has found that 30 per cent of Canadian drivers admit to making insulting gestures to other motorists, compared to 24 per cent of Americans; 15 per cent of Canadians admit to chasing other motorists in "hot pursuit," as against eight per cent of Americans, and five per cent to getting into actual fights, versus two per cent of Americans.

The Reader's Digest calls Vancouver drivers some of Canada's worst.

"Welcome to British Columbia," said writer Robert Kiener, "where at least 150,000 drivers are un-licenced and prohibited."

It is the un-hinged drivers that worry both me and James. He says we are not training our children at an early enough age about driving skills, driving psychology -- and driving morality.

"We need to teach kids how to drive because that's part of the essential skills of an adult human being today," he said in a telephone interview recently.

ICBC, of course, does not believe in school driver education.

If you do, write us and let us know -- without taking your hands off the wheel.

North Vancouver writer Jon Ferry can be reached at jferry@istar.ca

original here

A mighty fortress is our car

By GREG BARRETT
Gannett News Service

Forget the revved up 1950s Chevy with big black tires and missing muffler. The muscle car of the millennium is tall and broad and prefers to be called by its initials - SUV. Powerful and preppy like JFK or IBM. The SUV - Sport Utility Vehicle - is our land yacht, our tank, our 5,000 pounds of armor protecting us from road rage and pileups and that idiot hugging our bumper. So popular is this steel behemoth that in the last decade the auto industry has increased its offering of SUVs from a half dozen models to 40.

Sales of Sport Utility Vehicles in the United States topped 2.7 million in 1998, up from 961,000 in 1988 and 2.4 million in 1997. In a survey last year of 26,000 vehicle owners, 44 percent said they would consider buying an SUV - making it the No. 1 vehicle considered, says AutoPacific, Inc., an automotive marketing and product consulting firm. "We forecast that by the year 2000, sales will exceed 3 million," says Jim Hall, AutoPacific's vice president of industry analysis. But why? What is the draw of these road giants? To hear Georgia Tech psychologist Jack Feldman tell it, SUVs are roadway cousins to the trendy Timberland boots that scuff the polished floors of suburban malls.

"Most SUVs today will never see dirt, so you have lots of motives for their popularity - fashion, practicality, safety," says Feldman, a motorcyclist and driver of a 2,300-pound Mazda Miata. "An SUV is as practical as a minivan but does not make you look like a soccer mom. For a lot of people, that is a real incentive."

It's large like a linebacker, an engine with shoulder pads and menace. "There's the mentality that a certain amount of power comes with size, perceived or real," says Ken Roberts, spokesman for the Automotive Service Association, a nonprofit group of 55,000 mechanics and body shop workers.

"In the SUV the driver is elevated, sits higher, and looking down on fellow motorists gives the greater impression of power. I am bigger than you ... so I am a little more powerful."

Beneath the hood, however, the SUV isn't much different than a pickup truck or minivan. But those lack the polish and panache needed for mainstream stardom. "The minivan is looked down on by some as wimpy," Roberts says "The pickup is actually very similar to the SUV ... except in appearance." And in name. light trucks get tagged with monikers such as Tacoma or Silverado. Minivans are Express or Venture. But the SUV, it drips adrenaline: Navigator, Blazer, Bravada, Mountaineer. For 5-foot-3 Donna Martin of Winston-Salem, N.C., her Grand Cherokee Jeep SUV is a family protector. It may never carry the carcass of a caribou, but it gives her a better view and 2,000 pounds more safety than a pickup. "I like that I'm a little higher up and can see better," she says.

Towering above traffic, the SUV plods the road without making eye contact with cars, light trucks or minivans. The Toyota Land Cruiser, a popular SUV, stands 6-foot-1 compared to Toyota's top-selling Camry, 4-foot-6, or its Tacoma truck, 5-foot-2. Toyota's Sienna minivan is a relative tower at 5-foot-6 and 4,000 pounds, but it's small compared to the Land Cruiser's 5,115 pounds. "If I'm in an accident," says Martin, a mother of one with another on the way, "I'm less likely to get hurt."

The National Highway Safety Administration concurs. In studies it says when an SUV collides with the driver's side of a car, the car's driver is 30 times more likely to die than the driver of the SUV. In car-to-car accidents, the struck driver was 6 and a half times more likely to die. "That's one of the reasons the federal government gnashes its teeth and pulls its hair out about these things," Feldman says. "When the drivers of these SUVs surround themselves in all this steel ... I would predict they feel safer and maybe they aren't always as alert as, say, I'm going to be in my little Miata."

In an 18-month-old ongoing Internet survey of drivers from the United States and Canada, drivers of SUVs admit to being more aggressive - quicker to tailgate, speed or change lanes without signaling, reports Leon James, a professor of traffic psychology at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Anyone can answer James' questions on the Web site (DrDriving.org), and so far 1,100 drivers have completed the Road Rage Survey.

"Women who drive SUVs are the most aggressive of all, even more aggressive than the men who drive these cars," James says. "It's easy for me to conclude at this point in the survey that the people who are attracted to SUVs tend to be somewhat more aggressive than other people."

Aggressive. Trendy. Wary of rush hour and, perhaps, of road rage. All these traits, Feldman says, drive the SUV boom: "It's really not that complicated. ... None of this has Freudian overtones."

By SUSAN PAYNTER
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.

(...)

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.

(...)

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.

(...)

original here

By Debra Barayuga
Honolulu Star-Bulletin

The light turned green, and Heather Razo surged forward with the rest of the morning rush-hour traffic on Kamehameha Highway. She wasn't expecting a car on her right to enter her lane, causing her and the other motorist to slam on their brakes. The other driver was clearly upset, spouting some choice words to Razo via her rearview mirror. Razo inched closer to the woman's bumper, trying to make out what she was saying.

"You did it - not me," Razo angrily gestured back. "I was here, you weren't."

(...)

A Connecticut visitor recently regained consciousness at Queen's Hospital - the victim of a vicious assault stemming from a recent traffic accident in Waialae. A 17-year-old Kamehameha Schools senior awaits trial in the death of an off-duty police officer who either fell or was pushed off the H-1 during a scuffle.

A Laie driver escaped injury after he was shot at by a passenger in the bed of a slow-moving pickup he passed near Kahana Bay.

Such incidents of non-accident road violence are few and far between. Before the October cases, the last one was the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Travis Collins in a "stink-eye" incident on the H-2 in July. But similar confrontations happen more often than people hear or read about. With the stress of the upcoming holiday season, people have reason to be wary, police said.

(...)

The events that lead to these violent incidents are mostly trivial and involve ordinary citizens, the study said.

"But violent traffic disputes are rarely the result of a single incident. Rather, they seem to be the result of personal attitudes and the accumulation of stress in the motorist's life," Willis said.

According to the study, 44 percent of the violent altercations involved the use of a firearm, knife, club or tire iron.

Here, traffic incidents involving weapons also appear to be increasing, Kato said.

Recently, a Laie resident narrowly missed getting shot after he took offense with the occupant of a slow- moving truck who made an obscene gesture at him as he passed them near Kahana Bay.

As he slowed to confront the occupants, the truck passed him and a passenger in the truck bed pointed a rifle at him and fired.

Leon James, a professor at the University of Hawaii, knows these feelings that can incite violence only too well. He's been teaching a class in "traffic psychology" for the past 10 years.

It all began 15 years ago when his wife told him his grandmother - who allegedly clung on in the back seat whenever he drove - considered him a bad driver.

"That's ridiculous," was his response then, but then he thought more about it. "My reaction was so negative, I said, wait a minute. I'm an ordinary person, but I was getting negative thoughts. It's very general - any driver has these thoughts and feelings," James said.

(...)

People who fly off the handle easily, who are constantly tired or sad or have low energy levels, should check with their doctors to see if they may be suffering from seasonal affective disorder, which occurs this time of year, Hyman said.

It gets worse around the holidays, when people are pressured to be happy because everyone else is happy, pressed to get to places on time or to have money to buy gifts they think they have to give.

"This is a time people get into stressful situations, especially if they're not paying attention to their own health issues," Hymans said.

He advises people to get a good night's sleep and eat correctly - and to exercise, which can lower stress.

If you suspect you suffer from seasonal affective disorder, see your doctor, or go to a community health center or stress management clinic.

"Especially during this Thanksgiving and Christmas season, seeking help might help not only you, but the person you meet on the highway."

original here

Computer game racers blithely break the rules and come to no harm - yet some show signs that adrenaline-charged games lead to real-life aggressive driving. By DON OLDENBURG

In the virtual worlds of car racing video games and online race simulations, drivers tear around freeways and racecourses to beat the clock or other drivers at three times the highway speed limit.

Speedsters in video games ranging from cartoon-wacky to movie-quality realistic ram other cars off the road and defy the laws of physics and society to reach the finish line.

In most of these games, drivers don't die in crashes. And players never get hurt.

Or do they? Some experts suggest a possible connection between adrenaline-charged racing video games and real-life aggressive driving and road rage.

"I believe it can be harmful and probably is for many people," says Leon James, a psychologist at the University of Hawaii and an expert on driver psychology and road rage.

"Aggressive acts during driving can increase in both frequency and intensity as a result of the cumulative effect of playing violence games."

James, who has a Drivers Behaving Badly Web site, is convinced the need-for-speed mindset of seemingly harmless racing video games and simulators can dangerously be carried over to the driver's seat of real cars, and perhaps even contribute to the future driving habits of children.

"There isn't much research to prove it," concedes James, whose book, Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare, is scheduled for publication later this year.

"Yet, theoretically, it's obvious that anything you practise many times lowers the threshold for that behaviour. Those who play games that allow them to express hostile acts as a driver practise the violence in their emotions and in their thoughts."

(...)

But when a crash-bashing video-game publisher asked James recently to endorse the idea that playing these kinds of games is an effective way of letting off steam, the psychologist refused, saying no evidence supports that contention.

"What we know, in fact, leads to the opposite conclusion," James says. "Medically, venting anger revs up your physiology in the direction of greater stress, and this is known to be bad for you.

"Psychologically, venting is just another way of expressing aggressiveness. The more you express it in a game context, the easier it is to express it when driving."

(...)

Research shows that most people, most of the time, recognise the difference between reality and fantasy, he says. "We do things in our fantasy play we wouldn't want to do at all in our real lives."

But James insists knowing reality from fantasy isn't the only point. "Assuming you know the difference, does it lower your threshold anyway?" he asks. "I think so. The more practised you are at these games, the weaker your inhibitions get for the kind of aggressiveness that already exists on highways."

James also worries about the messages these video games may impart to the younger generation. He believes road rage is a habit acquired in childhood, that children are raised "in a car culture that condones irate expressions as part of the normal wear and tear of driving".

Children learn from their parents' behaviour that once someone is behind the wheel of a car, the rules change. Suddenly it's acceptable to get upset, lose control, use bad language.

"Something must be done," says James. "Perhaps a huge disclaimer at the start of the games stating that the game is only a fictitious setting and the driving portrayed must never be attempted in real life."

And, he says, after the game, players should "assess their emotions and conscience by asking themselves, 'How would real people feel if I did this to them?'"

- The Washington Post

original here

Bumper crop
Competition is fierce for mall parking spaces

By PAUL LEIGHTON

(...)

An estimated 35,000 vehicles visit the Northshore Mall on a busy day during holiday shopping season. With 7,850 spaces, making it one of the largest mall parking lots in New England, there are usually plenty of spots to go around.

But the sheer number of vehicles, combined with the heightened emotions of the holidays, can turn the mall parking lot into a paved version of a psychologist's couch at this time of year.

"People feel social pressure more in a parking lot than on the highway," said Dr. Leon James, a University of Hawaii professor whose Web site refers to him as "Dr. Driving" and describes him as the founder of driving psychology.

"It's slower and it's closer and the exchanges (between drivers) are longer. Nobody wants to be a wimp. Nobody wants to have their space stolen from them."

(...)

Peabody police also work details at the parking lot entrances in an effort to ease the flow of traffic into and out of the lot.

"The Northshore Mall is like a city unto itself at Christmas time," said Peabody police Sgt. William Caico. "The parking lot is just jammed every year."

Caico said some drivers neglect to obey the usual rules of the road once they enter a parking lot. Instead of following the marked roads within the lot, they'll cut across parking spots looking for the shortest route.

Then there are the drivers who compete for the coveted close spots, setting up the potential for conflict when two vehicles arrive at an open spot at the same time.

James, who has co-written a book called "Road Rage and Aggressive Driving, Steering Clear of Highway Warfare," said Americans are raised to be competitive in public places.

"When you ride in your parents' car and see them driving aggressively, a child will just absorb that," said James. "People will brush by you in an airport. We're almost rigged for hostility, you might say."

James said he drove aggressively until his wife began pointing out his bad habits. "I used to deny the mistakes I was making," he said. "She'd say, 'You don't look before you change lanes, that makes me nervous.' Then I started to notice that she was right."

For overly aggressive drivers to change their ways, said James, they must first acknowledge their faults, then observe their mistakes when they happen. Once you get to that stage, you can pick one bad habit on each trip and try to correct it.

As for coping with mall parking lots, James said people should allocate extra time to find a parking space in order to avoid feeling rushed. And instead of acting competitive, drivers should try to be supportive.

"The opposite of aggressive is not passive," he said. "It's very active: It's called supportive. Be the one that offers the parking space to someone else so that you can feel good. (Being competitive) robs people of that sense of community we should have from being polite and yielding. Anybody who tries it feels so much better."

(...)

original here

AMARILLO, Texas, Dec. 6 - Increased stress is making Christmas a little less merry on our city streets. Four out of ten Americans say holiday stress is to blame for increased incidents of road rage.

IN A RECENT SURVEY released by progressive insurance, one quarter of those surveyed said their stress levels are up because they have too much to do. Another 10 percent said mall shopping raises their blood pressure, four percent blame the increased stress on paying for gifts, and two percent blame it on traveling to the in-laws house.

In that same survey, an overwhelming 73 percent said they've never experienced road rage, but many of them admitted they didn't know exactly what constituted the rage.

(...)

That something is usually an obscene gesture as described by driver Benton Freeman, “You see people yelling at each other and giving each other the bird.” A simple action that many don't realize is road rage.

By definition, anything that angers a driver, leading them to take an aggressive action constitutes road rage. Since many Americans have an added stress level during the holidays. The tiniest thing could set it off. Sometimes that happens while they're in the car.

Neufeld: “Whether it's more traffic. People are out shopping, stress in their lives, they're trying to figure out who to buy presents for and just the whole hustle and bustle, so it does probably elevate the stress level of our drivers.”

(...)

Dave Ryan says he tries to avoid road rage: “There really is no good situation that I would. I try to keep my temper at the wheel, because a car is dangerous.”

Neufeld says some people take it personal. “So they do something in retaliation or they cut them off or something like that, and it just escalates.”

Psychologists say the seeds of "road rage" often are planted in future drivers by their parents. And by the time teen-agers start driving, they've been exposed to years of aggressive driving in movies and television, without consequence. (a reference to Leon James' congressional testimony)

original here

By Judy DeMocker
Special to the _Examiner_

On the night of Nov. 17, Christopher Robertson was riding his bicycle on 4th Street in the South of Market area of San Francisco. He was riding with 15 friends in a funeral procession for bike messener Joseph Woods, who was shot and killed in his Mission Street apartment earlier in Novermber. According to the traditions of S.F. bicycle messenger commuity, when a messenger dies, his fellows take the bike on a ceremonial ride to Mission Rock and throw it in San Francisco Bay. That night, however, Chris Robertson never made it to the water's edge.

According to eyewitness Ron Salkin, it all happened very quickly.

A tractor-trailer came up behind the procession. Enraged that the group was occupying the lane, Salkin said, the driver began weaving from one side of the road to the other, blowing his horn repeatedly. Then the driver pulled alongside the group, shouting at them. He threw a wooden block at the cyclists, trying to hit them. He swerved into the group, crushing Chris under the right front wheel of his rig, Salkin said. Robertson died.

``You didn't even have to turn around; you could feel that this guy was going off -- laying on his horn, gunning his engine,'' said Salkin, who works as a bicycle messenger at the Black Dog Delivery Service. ``If he had been trying to get around us, I presume he would have sped up. There was no oncoming traffic. He could easily have passed us.''

The truck driver was traveling to Casey's Office Moving and Services Inc., two blocks from the scene of the accident. So far no charges have been filed against the truck driver, who was released on $15,000 bail. The District Attorney's office is investigating the incident and plans to announce the results of its findings in the next week or two, according to Fred Gardner, public information officer for the D.A.'s office. Gardner declined to comment on how the investigation was going, or what charges the DA's office is considering.

The death of Robertson has sparked widespread concern in the city, from bicycle activists, Department of Parkng and Traffic officials, and the mayor's office. And it's brought to the fore public safety issues for bicyclists and pedestrians alike: mainly, that they're tired of being on the losing end of the battle for San Francisco's streets. At a rally last week at the Hall of Justice building, bicycle commuters, activists, and messengers aired their complaints about careless drivers and an unsympathetic police force.

``I'm sick and tired of getting harassed by motorists, and feeling like I'm not allowed to be on the streets. Drivers don't understand that bicyclists have the same rights as cars to use the roads,'' said Ginger Williamson, a bicycle commuter who was also a friend of Robertson's. ``I'm tired of having drivers cut in front of me, shake their fists at me, honk at me, when I'm not doing anything wrong.''

Others voiced complaints of being harassed by police and threatened with citations, even when they were following rules of safe riding set out in the California Drivers' Handbook. According to that pamphlet, bicyclists may occupy the lane, they may move into the road to avoid debris or to make a left-hand turn.

``I got pulled over by a police car that told me I was weaving from lane to lane. I wasn't. Then they told me that 70 to 80 percent of the time, injury accidents are the bicyclist's fault.'' said another speaker at Friday's rally. ``So basically they're blaming bicyclists for what is happening to them on the streets.''

(...)

Streets are more congested, and travel times are slower, especially in the South of Market area. According to the Congestion Management report filed biannually by the County Transportation Authority, travel speed dropped 40 percent on Mission Street near the Embarcadero between 1997, and 1999, the same location where Rittling first encountered the driver who spat on him, and later beat him in 1998.

Impatience and the holiday season, according to a researcher of the road rage phenomenon, are two factors that can set off drivers.

``Most motorists drive around every day in an emotionally impaired state,'' said Dr. Leon James, Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii and co-author of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare, in an e-mail interview. James also publishes the Web site www.DrDriving.org. According to James, the holiday season increases stress on drivers, much as congestion, construction, and gridlock traffic do. More stress can raise the level of hostility and create additional opportunities for confrontations and violence.

Civility as a civic response

The city has done a good deal to raise awareness of pedestrian safety. It has installed cameras to catch red-light runners. It has implemented traffic-calming measures in Duboce Triangle and other neighborhoods to slow traffic down and make fat turns more difficult. And it's established a Pedestrian Safety Task Force that facilitates communication between government agencies and senior citizen, disabled, and environmental groups.

But even with educationa advertising campaigns, city officials say that the problem is not going to go away.

``San Francisco is off the charts on pedestrian injury,'' said Michael Radetsky, health educator at the Public Health Department and member of the Pedestrian Safety Task Force. ``What we're trying to do is get people to associate human frailty with what happens when you race through the intersection.''

(...)

Competition for spaces can lead to
anger, confrontations and vehicle damage.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PARKING LOT TIPS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

As the holiday countdown continues, mall parking lots and nearby roads become more congested. The Automobile Club of Southern California offers these tips:

•Be prepared. Allow more time to find a parking space. It may be easier to park farther away and walk. Park in well-lighted areas.

•Use headlights during the day so other drivers will see you.

•Be aware of your surroundings, especially when backing out of your parking space.

•Make sure your defroster or defogger is working. Make sure your windows are clear before backing out of your parking spot.

•Before going in to shop, remove any shopping carts that might get pushed into your car. You would probably be responsible for any damage from such incidents, and you would have to pay your insurance deductible.

•Be careful. If you are found at fault in a parking-lot crash, you might have to pay your collision deductible, and the crash could count as a point on your driving record.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By JENIFER MCKIM
The Orange County Register

(...)

Call it "parking-lot rage'' - a low-speed form of "road rage'' in which motorists cannot resist retaliating when someone dings their door or they believe they have been wronged in the pursuit of choice parking.

It's unclear how bad the problem is because people often don't report the incidents. But police officers at two large Orange County malls said they get called to break up squabbles several times a week.

The holiday season, with many tense, frantic shoppers competing for spaces, can accentuate the problem. Many local malls boost security to deal with the crush.

"The closer we get to Christmas, tempers are short,'' said Santa Ana police officer Don Wolfram, who has worked at MainPlace mall for eight years. "Everybody gets stubborn. They don't want to move an inch."

Wolfram, who mediates parking battles about three times a week, said women are involved most of the time. Sometimes they want each other arrested.

"I have had incidents where people start throwing blows at each other,'' Wolfram said. "I tell people to take a deep breath - there is plenty of parking.''

Irvine police Sgt. Dave Mihalik said he gets two or three such calls each weekend at Irvine Spectrum Center. Recently, two motorists reported finding their tires slashed after altercations over parking spaces.

Many mall visitors snake through the parking aisles for spaces nearest the stores and restaurants, while more distant spots go begging.

(...)

THE PSYCHE

Parking can bring out the worst in people, some psychologists say.

Leon James, a University of Hawaii professor and the author of "Road Rage and Aggressive Driving,'' recalled a study showing that people who know someone is waiting for their spot will take several seconds longer to pull out, just to "reassert their freedom.''

James, who has a Web site called DrDriving.org, says 90 percent of drivers express hostility. And hostility is on the rise because parents pass their reactions to their children, he said.

He recommends that parents show remorse when they express hostility while on the road.

Also, people need to plan ahead to give themselves extra time to avoid getting frustrated, he said.

"If you are in a hurry and frantic, you are already in a situation where you are going to lose,'' James said.

(...)

SCENES FROM THE FRONT

Most people navigate most parking lots with no problems. Most people are considerate and civil. But those who have gotten into conflicts say the memory stays with them.

Christie Bartusick of Huntington Beach said a woman accosted her after she refused to give up her spot at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

Bartusick said she clearly reached the coveted real estate first but that the woman asked her to move, explaining she was 20 minutes late for a doctor's appointment.

At first, Bartusick thought it was a joke, but before she knew it, she said, the two were tussling on the pavement.

"I was in shock. I yanked my arm back and I said, 'Don't you dare touch me,''' said Bartusick, who also was late for an appointment. "She was desperate for a parking spot and thought I would give up mine.''

Marilyn McCullock of Garden Grove said she "went into a state of shock'' when a driver keyed her car after she accidentally nicked his. "It was just a horrible experience.''

(...)

(...)

It's the season to unwrap our anxiety about the end of civility. Every hundred years, we have a bout of courtesy concern. At the last turn of the century, just about every magazine carried articles decrying the demise of American manners, paving the way for the rise of modern etiquette guides, according to Mark Caldwell in "A Short History of Rudeness: Manners, Morals, and Misbehavior in Modern America."

Fast-forward a century, and we're at it again. The ranks of Mistresses of Manners (it seems to be a female-dominated field) are ever-growing, including Judith Martin, who is syndicated as Miss Manners (and carried in The Bee's Scene section), Peggy Post, Letitia Baldrige and Mary Mitchell (syndicated as Ms. Demeanor). Every week we seem to have a new rage on the trend radar: road rage, parking rage, air rage, retail rage, even Web rage (been flamed lately?).

Even our highest-ranking leaders sometimes play etiquette maven. A couple of years ago, New York's mayor, Rudolph W. Giuliani, started a crusade to improve the manners of the city's public servants.

George W. Bush, in his first speech after Al Gore's concession, seemed to be asking us all to be on our best behavior when he singled out courtesy as a source of national strength: "Together, guided by a spirit of common sense, common courtesy and common goals, we can unite and inspire the American citizens."

(...)

The hot-tempered zones
Keep temper from roasting on an open fire

Here are some tips for keeping your yule cool:

Think comfort: Bring things with you to add to your sense of physical or psychological ease. If you're flying, you might bring a pillow or a book. When you're out shopping, wear comfortable clothes.

Go easy on alcohol: Drinking often plays a part in outbreaks of rudeness.
Share: Talk to fellow customers and passengers instead of just stewing.
Be realistic, and plan accordingly. If you know you hate crowds while shopping, go to stores at off hours. If you are flying during the holidays, be prepared for lines.
Practice empathy: That cashier, waiter, bartender, flight attendant you are so irritated with is working extra hard during the holidays and probably has a to-do list as long as yours.
Keep some perspective: And a sense of humor to remind yourself that the holiday hassles aren't the end of the world. A little deep breathing might help too. Or count to 10; if that doesn't work, try 20.
Use the magic words; you don't have to be sincere for them to work. Writes Mark Caldwell in "A Short History of Rudeness" (St. Martin's Press, $13): "The deepest beauty of 'Excuse me' is exactly that it's not a true apology, indeed implies no real emotion at all. Its rote vacuity is just what makes it so useful. It helps us steer daily among countless social reefs."
Some of the tips above were gleaned from the Web sites listed below.

Applied Psychology is a travel safety firm with an informative Web site: www.appliedpsychology.com

The Skyrage Foundation is dedicated to public education about issues of flight safety: www.skyrage.org

Dr. Leon James, a.k.a. Dr. Driving, is a professor of Traffic Pyschology at the University of Hawaii. His Web site has lots of links and information, including tips on how to steer clear of road rage: www.DrDriving.org/

(...)

First and foremost is the mall. There are the crowds and lines and parking hassles to set the stage for a meltdown of manners. It's only going to get worse before it gets better as we approach what has historically been the busiest shopping day of the year -- the Saturday before Christmas.

Retail rage is real. According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, shoppers are responsible for close to 10,000 violent incidents a year in which retail workers are victimized. (Nonetheless, robbery is much more hazardous, affecting more than 300,000 retail workers a year.)

One factor contributing to unpleasantness during the holiday season: unrealistic expectations on the part of naive shoppers.

(...)

Inexperienced shoppers also have a low annoyance threshold, particularly when they are told a store doesn't carry something.

"They get mad and say, 'Well, I really wish you had this,' and they just stand there looking at you like you can will it into existence," our salesman explains.

Going postal
Another major rudeness zone is the post office, where long lines get people simmering.

(...)

To Grandmother's house we go
Besides shopping and shipping, the other big holiday season endeavor that leaves people cranky is traveling. Incidents of road rage are all too familiar. One recent national survey, conducted by an insurance carrier, found 41 percent of respondents reported experiencing anger while driving during the holiday season, and 25 percent said that "worrying about too much to do" was the thing that brought it on.

(...)

The U.S. Aviation Safety Reporting System recorded an eightfold increase in unruly passenger reports by airline crews in the United States, from 66 reports in 1997 to 534 in 1999. Airline employees are concerned enough that they staged a public awareness campaign last summer, demonstrating and handing out leaflets.

Flight attendant Renee Sheffer, now 37, was attacked on a jet heading from Los Angeles to Baltimore during the holiday season in December 1997. Her injuries included torn knee ligaments, a separated shoulder and spinal injuries. Three surgeries and almost three years later, she returned to work.

Her husband, Mike Sheffer, who is 42, and the couple's daughters, Devon, now 7, and Genevieve, now 8, were traumatized.

"Those two little girls for months would have nightmares, waking up screaming 'Somebody's beating up Mommy,' " Mike Sheffer said by phone from the family's home in Charlotte, N.C. "I really don't want to see anybody go through this."

Sheffer is doing his part, as founding director of the Skyrage Foundation, dedicated to public education and assisting victims of air rage.

Sheffer produced a very personal poster for public display, currently hanging in a Miami airport. His daughters, looking worried, appear with the message, "Mommy is a flight attendant ... not a punching bag!"

Tick, tick, ticked-off
(...)

Riley says one study found people involved in air rage incidents share several characteristics. One is a sense of entitlement. "There seems to be an inordinate amount of people who are guilty of this who come from first class," Riley says. Other common characteristics are a fear of loss of control and a negative response to authority.

We can enact laws and fines against rudeness and give airline personnel restraints for subduing unruly passengers, but what about prevention? Maybe there's a way to raise the general civility quotient before trouble strikes.

There is one old rule that is pretty simple. It predates Emily Post and Miss Manners and applies in all seasons.

(...)

> Colin Haynes is Editor of CARtoday.com and Africa's leading automotive
> industry news service, and an award-winning author, broadcaster and
> journalist.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 10:09:37 -1000
From: Leon James <leon@hawaii.edu>
To: Colin Haynes <haynes@kingsley.co.za>
Cc: DrDriving@DrDriving.org
Subject: Re: Road Rage

Thank you Colin Haynes! We appreciate it.

You asked if we have a message for SA drivers about road rage. Since it's
a Christmas tied week perhaps the following might be appropriate:

Where does road rage come from and why are we all so roadrageous? This is
a world wide epidemic. Our research uncovered the astonishing fact that
the vast majority of motorists drive with an underlying seething anger
that is cocked to explode out of control at any moment or occasion. This
explosive response is either mild, intense, or violent. And so highways,
roads, streets, parking lots, even shopping malls have become war zones.

Our research shows that these hostile road habits we acquire in childhood,
as passengers and on streets and playgrounds, can be inhibited and
transformed into positive, community supportive driving styles. Our book
has self-tests and check lists in each chapter to help readers assess
their driving style, including thoughts and emotions behind the wheel. It
gives step by step procedures for engineering your own driving personality
makeover. People who follow these exercises quickly discover that it's
more fun, safer, and less stressful to be a supportive driver instead of
an aggressive driver.

Driving can be fun, even traffic! But only when you see traffic as a
community teamwork activity in which all cooperate to get everyone through
safely and promptly. The opposite of aggressive driving is supportive
driving. The book details its benefits and how to become one by learning
to be an emotionally intelligent driver.

Read this book yourself and buy it for someone you love, or someone who
needs it!

Dr. Leon James
Dr. Diane Nahl
Kailua, Hawaii
http://DrDriving.org

SEPT 2, 2000

Your Turn: A little courtesy
on the road helps a lot

By Al Philippus

I was in line at the grocery store the other day when this occurred to me: Why are shoppers so courteous and mindful of the rules of checking out, but motorists cut through traffic, speed, shout at slower drivers and too frequently act like terrors?

Maybe it's because driving has become so impersonal, so focused on the goal and not the process, that drivers in San Antonio experience such rudeness and illegal behavior.

Think about it. Would you cut in line at the grocery store, bump the cart in front of you and explain it all away by saying: "I'm late to work. Get out of my way."

A recent survey of San Antonio drivers shows that aggressive driving is on the increase. Conducted by the San Antonio Police Department and Dr. Leon James of the University of Hawaii, a noted expert on driver behavior, the survey of 837 drivers indicated nine out of 10 found driving in the city more aggressive. What's more, 90 percent had encountered up to 10 incidents in the week before the survey.

One finding I find disturbing is that some 25 percent of the San Antonians surveyed don't consider speeding and improper lane changes aggressive driving.

The San Antonio Police Department is charged with enforcing the laws of the city and protecting its residents. In April, in recognition of the threat to public safety that aggressive driving poses, we initiated the Drive SmartŪ — Be a Cool Operator program. In conjunction with the San Antonio Municipal Courts, we have blended enforcement, education and judicial programs to make an impact on aggressive driving.

Already, we're seeing the effects. Our traffic personnel are stopping motorists for speeding, improper lane changes, following too close and other aggressive behaviors. These violators are getting tickets or a warning and a Traffic Enforcement and Education card that describes the dangerous and illegal behaviors in which they engaged.

Citations alone will not effect change. Sure, the tickets can add up. One driver recently received three tickets that cost him $351.

Those who frequently show up in Municipal Court after being ticketed for aggressive driving behaviors may find themselves in remedial driving classes.

Voluntary compliance is the best prevention for aggressive driving, which leads to collisions, casualties and substantial property damage.

To that end, the Police Department, City Hall, San Antonio Municipal Courts and several community leaders, such as USAA, are organizing a Labor Day event to focus attention on driving smart and being a cool operator.

This Labor Day weekend, we urge all drivers to slow down, observe the traffic laws and don't take out their aggressions on the road.

If you can be courteous in the grocery store, what's stopping you from being polite on the road?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Al Philippus is chief of the San Antonio Police Department.

By SUSAN PAYNTER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

Seattle drivers are wimps about car horns. Back East it's a cacophony, but no one wets pants over it.

Don't forget a little Seattle girl named Loetta Coston shot dead through the back window of her mom's car six years ago just because a driver went ballistic when her mother honked at him.

SUV drivers actually swear less.

They don't have to. They just run everybody else off the road.

College students ought to be assigned to come up with some friendly new hand signals that say: "Sorry. Didn't mean to do that."

(...)

These days we literally hit the road. Hard.

Maybe what I've been hearing from readers will help.

A dozen readers wished cars had friendlier-sounding horns for when you just want to say "watch out" or "yo, the light is green."

(...)

The authoritative stuff came from national road rage expert Dr. Leon James, professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii, who saw the column on the Internet. His nickname is DrDriving.

In a survey over the Internet between September 1998 and January 1999, 1,095 people told him:

Men are more aggressive than women when they drive sports cars and light trucks, but women are more aggressive when they drive SUVs and luxury cars.

Women swear more than men behind the wheel regardless of the car they drive. But 72 percent of women respondents who drive vans reported cursing on a regular basis.

In Michigan, 55 percent of female drivers swear, but only 40 percent of men. But in Florida, 85 percent of the female drivers swear and call names -- far more than men.

And young drivers (age 16 to 24) swear the most.

Most drivers underestimate their own road mistakes and overestimate their competence.

Drivers of either sex who habitually leave late for a destination report speeding, cursing and driving in a hostile manner more often than those who leave on time. Participants not only responded, they confessed secrets.

When she drove a sporty red Miata, one woman admits she raced, sped and wove through lanes. Now she has switched to a small red Honda Civic. "And I couldn't care less. I just do my own thing." And some survey participants got so mad at each other, they succumbed to Internet rage.

"Sorry but that's the biggest load of (bleep) I've heard in ages," one SUV driver shot back at a small car driver who blamed big rides for crushing small ones.

(...)

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