Home>News>Road Rage News Stories Part 4

Collection of Road Rage News Stories Around the World

compiled and edited by Dr. Leon James

See also:  Road Rage News Stories that are Quoting Leon James

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Look forward in anger or rage?

In May 1951, Dylan Thomas wrote the poem Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night, addressing his father who was approaching blindness and death. The final lines are: Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. In 1956, John Osborne's play Look Back In Anger was first performed. Its main character Jimmy Porter became known as the "Angry Young Man", and typified the playwrights of Osborne's generation. In the 1990s, it seems that English language users are heeding the message of Thomas rather than Osborne.

An AA Driver Education Foundation article (http://www.aadef.co.nz/roadrage.shtml) says: "In the late 1980s, drivers in the US, apparently frustrated by increasing congestion, began fighting and shooting each other on a regular basis, victims of what the popular press termed road rage." and goes on to inform us that "In the US, unverified figures of up to 1200 road rage related deaths a year have been reported." In a survey of 526 British motorists carried out in January 1995, 90 per cent had experienced "road rage" incidents in the previous twelve months and 60 per cent admitted to losing their tempers behind the wheel, indulging in aggressive tailgating (driving very close to the vehicle in front of you), headlight flashing, obscene gestures, deliberate obstruction of other vehicles, or verbal abuse. 1 per cent of drivers claim to have been physically assaulted by other motorists.

But some people insist that road rage is nothing new: the Oldie magazine recently printed an item of carriage rage from 1817: Last week I had a row on the road with a fellow in a carriage who was impudent to my horse. I gave him a swinging box on the ear.

In the Bank of English, a large computerized collection (or corpus) of 1990s English language texts containing 329 million words (http://www.cobuild.collins.co.uk/boe_info.shtmll), road rage occurs 249 times. The corpus also reveals how quickly the rage phenomenon is spreading to other aspects of our social behaviour. In the 5859 corpus examples for rage, we find that car drivers also encounter car rage, driver rage, car-park rage (or parking rage) and alarm rage (when their alarms go off for no apparent reason in a quiet street, offending victims of noise rage). Other forms of transport are not immune: air rage (which became particularly prominent in 1998 and 1999), rail rage (or on London Underground, Tube rage), bike rage, roller rage, and even pram rage.

Every activity seems to generate rage: supermarket shoppers experience trolley rage or checkout rage, pedestrians exhibit pavement rage, workers have to cope with work rage (keyboard rage in offices, runway rage at airports), and phone users meet with phone rage (also voicemail rage). No areas of our cities are spared: neighbour rage and neighbourhood rage flourish, staff and customers find that bank rage (and perhaps broker-rage) occurs in banks, bar rage in pubs (also pub rage). Doctors are unable to cure us, instead they have to deal with hospital rage (or ward rage) in hospitals and steroid users affected by "roid (steroid) rage". Indeed, mental health professionals are now diagnosing rage disorder.

Activities specifically aimed at calming us down are no longer effective: sports are giving rise to golf rage, pool rage (swimmers), and piste rage (skiers). Gentle gardeners are succumbing to hose rage (joined by other water consumers in water rage). Even yoga teachers report meditation rage in their students. Animals, too, are not immune: dogs suffer from canine rage syndrome, and chickens from roost rage.

One could say: "rage is all the rage"! Or as Shakespeare put it in his Sonnets (number 65): Since brass, nor stone, nor earth nor boundless sea, But said mortality o'ersways their power, How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea, Whose action is no stronger than a flower?

So what can we do about it? In a 1989 article in the Wall Street Journal about "boot camps" for offenders, Bill Earls asks: But will real or feigned anger work with people who think rage is the norm, and that punching, kicking or stabbing is an accepted way to show displeasure?

To set the record straight, although rage seems to have made a sudden and forceful impact in the 1990s, it is in fact anger which dominates the English language. John Osborne, not Dylan Thomas, is the watchword: the Bank of English has 13,551 examples of anger compared to the paltry 5,859 examples for rage reviewed above. But we tend not to notice anger as much, because it occurs much more frequently in books than in newspapers. Which raises the question: should literature or journalism be the touchstone of a language?

original here

Road Rage in Japan

Ananova :

• Driver admits killing of window-tapping cyclist
  
• Police in Japan have arrested a delivery driver who they say has admitted to knocking down and killing a cyclist because he kept tapping on his window.
  
• Makoto Tsujianai, a university professor in Tokyo, is believed to have been cycling to work in heavy traffic when he was mown down.
  
• The suspect told police that each time he stopped his car, the academic rode by and tapped on his window before cycling off again.
  
• He told officers that he eventually lost his temper with Mr Tsujianai and had no option but to hurt him, reports the Mainichi Daily News.
  

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Police are looking for three men who allegedly smashed a car window and threw a beer bottle inside, leaving glass embedded in the face and head of a 7-week-old boy who was in the back seat.

Authorities said they were searching for the men whom John Herrington II, 19, said injured his infant son, John Herrington III, this weekend. Herrington said he tapped his brakes when a white car began tailgating him and that when he slowed to a stop the car pulled up to next to him. When Herrington angrily asked them whether they knew he had a baby in the car, he said one of the men jumped out of the car and smashed a back window, while another threw the 40-ounce bottle of beer through the window. He described the first man as a black male, about 6 feet tall and 180 pounds. He had sporadic facial hair and partial sideburns with tightly braided hair.

(...)

Police and paramedics treated the boy for the cuts to his head and face, but that he did not require stitches or hospitalization.

© 2000 Associated Press.

original here

11-Dec-2000 * Page C1

When good drivers go bad
For bicyclists and pedestrians, hitting the road
can be a deadly experience

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 community, 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.''

Playing the who's to blame game

Too often, activist groups claim, the police do not take bicycle injuries and fatalities seriously. There is only one case on the books this year in which a driver was charged with a crime, attempted murder. That case was a Nov. 4 incident in which a motorist forced a cyclist into a parked car on Mission Street, seriously injuring her.

``We're aware of the problem,'' said Lt. Lawrence Minasian of the S.F. Police Department. ``It's especially bad in the South of Market area.''

Criminal charges are hard to bring against automobile drivers, however, because proving intent is much more difficult than when a gun or knife is used as a deadly weapon.

``It's very hard to establish intent in these cases. One person's going to say, `he did it on purpose,' and the other's going to say, `no I didn't,''' said Inspector Mike Mahoney of the Hit and Run Division of the San Francisco Police Department. ``Unless you can somehow show that some sort of altercation happened beforehand, or that there was a relationship between the people involved, it's very difficult to prove intent. People don't usually get in their cars and say, `I'm going to go run someone down today.'''

But some members of the police force have already made up their minds as to who was at fault on the night of Nov. 17, weeks before the investigation was completed.

``Do you mean the case where the bicyclist swerved in front of the truck and got run over?'' said Sgt. Bosch, also of the Hit and Run division. ``What about the road rage of bicycle drivers? I can't tell you how many cases I've seen of pedestrians getting knocked down by bicyclists, and the number of broken hips when they hit the ground. The problem is there's no licensing of management of particularly bicycle messengers.''

According to the Hit and Run Division database, which tracks pedestrian fatalities and criminal cases involving traffic accidents, there has been only one case reported this year of a cyclist hitting a pedestrian.

This `Blame the Victim' attitude is often heard in the police department. According to one officer at the Hall of Justice rally, it is bicyclists, not drivers, who cause accidents on city streets. Bike messengers in particular don't have much credibility with police, since they are often seen as riding aggressively and flaunting traffic rules. ``Bike messengers, with the way they conduct themselves, not obeying traffic lights and pulling out in front of people, are causing a lot of accidents,'' said Minasian. ``There's another side to this story.''

It's true that cyclists, like pedestrians, sometimes cause the accident that injures them. More often, though, it's the driver's mistake that leaves a bicyclist or pedestrian lying on the pavement. According to statistics kept by the California Highway Patrol over the last five years, automobile drivers were at fault an average of 55 percent of the time in injury accidents involving a bicycle.

The police department's blame-the-biker attitude has bicycle activists seeing red. By stigmatizing the community of bicycle messengers, police are overlooking the estimated 25,000 peole who ride their bicycles to work each year, and the even greater number of cycling enthusiasts who ride on evenings and weekends for pleasure. The entire spectrum of the city's bicyclists is getting shortchanged, according to one bicycle advocate.

``We have encountered that attitude, and it's more than an attitude. It's prejudice. And it affects the quality of the police work,'' said Dave Snyder, executive director of the S.F. Bicycle Coalition. ``Whenever they get into a situation where they didn't see what happened, police officers assume the bicycle rider was at fault.''

Bicycle Coalition frustrated

Snyder said that police are not following their own procedures for deaing with traffic collisions. The Bicycle Coalition has dozens of cases on file in which police refused to file accident reports. Without those reports, injury accidents do not get entered in the police database and cannot be investigated by the District Attorney's office.

``I'm frustrated with it, really frustrated, and I don't have much hope of it getting any better,'' Snyder said. ``How can we work on making bicycling safer, if three out of four times a motorist hits a bicyclist, it doesn't get entered into the public record?''

Bicycling safely

The good news is that bicycling in the city is safer now than ever before, according to Snyder. Bicyclist fatalities are fairly rare: two last year, three the year before, and one this year, according to the Medical Examiner's office. Pedestrian deaths are also fairly stable, hovering around 30 per year. So far this year, 28 people have been struck and killed in San Francisco streets, according to police data. the biggest spike in pedestrian deaths occurred in 1997, when 41 pedestrians were killed in a 12-month period. For bicycles, injuries are on the rise, however. Last year 431 bicyclists were injured in accidents with cars.

``It's safer out there than it had been in previous years, though it's still probably 10 times more dangerous than it ought to be,'' said S.F. Bicycle Coalition's Snyder. ``Bikers are smarter, safer, and car drivers are more used to seeing them on the streets.''

Statistics can be misleading, however. No agency has measured the incidents of road rage on San Francisco streets. The Police Department does not compile data on what percentage of traffic collisions are intentional, or how often those cases are prosecuted and drivers convicted. For instance, there was no record in the Hit and Run database of the 1998 beating of attorney Peter Rittling by an irate motorist while participating in Bike-to-Work day. What is easily measured is the degree of hostility that cyclists experience when they take to the roadways.

``I've noticed drivers getting less and less patient, and more and more aggressive,'' said Eric Murphy, a legal assistant at a downtwon law firm who has ridden his bicycle on city streets for nine years.

``I can't ride any distance at all anymore without seenig some kind of driver stupidity: people blowing throuh stop signs, cutting in front of me in the lane, and being inattentive, talking on cell phones.''

The reasons for driver hostility are not hard to find

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.''

Bicycle activists are hoping for a similar level of commitment from government agencies and City Hall to address issues of bicyclist safety. The mayor's office announced Dec. 1 its ``Share the Road'' public education campaign to help raise driver awareness of bicyclist rights through signs and advertising. Under the program, the Department of Parking and Traffic will spend $230,000 to raise public awareness of bicycle safety issues. The mayor's office is not known for siding with bicyclists, however. In July 1997, Mayor Brown supported the arrest of more than 250 cyclists during a Critical Mass demonstration, calling for convictions that would lead to jail time for participants.

But for bicycle advocates, something is better than nothing, and they'll take what they can get.

``Of course it's not enough,'' said cyclist Murphy, ``but it's a step in the right direction.''

Dangerous Drivers Face Ten Years In Jail

Dangerous drivers who persistently break the law could find themselves behind bars for ten years, with a lifetime driving ban and their car impounded.

The measures are part of a tough new package due to be announced by the Government this week.

Drivers found guilty of road rage will also face new penalties.

The moves, announced by Home Office minister Charles Clarke, will see more people disqualified for speeding and drink driving, harsher sentences for drivers who kill people in crashes, and a new punishment systemfor those who drive at more than 100mph.

Cars impounded

The Government will encourage the courts to enforce the penalties more thoroughly.Although drivers can be sentenced for up to 10 years imprisonment for causing death by dangerous driving, at present the power is rarely if ever used.

According to The Observer, those who continue to drivewhile banned could be faced with the "short, sharp shock" punishment of having their cars impounded. Research suggests as many as 800,000 people are driving in Britain without a licence or insurance.

(...)

Other measures could include a "two-strikes" rule, banning drivers for up to10 years if they are involved in a second drink-driving or serious speedingoffence. Lifetime bans will be considered for drivers who break the law three times.

The existing 12 points system for banning drivers who break the law will also be re-examined. A 20-point system is being considered so that courts can differentiate more clearly between minor and serious offences.

(...)

Road Rage Victim Take On Terror Spin

A road rage victim was taken for a terror drive on the bonnet of a car after intervening in an accident.

The man was only a witness to the minor collision and stepped forward as the motorist got back into his car.

But he ended up clinging for his life after the man drove at him, sending him flying onto the car bonnet. He was driven around a roundabout and for a further mile down the road before being thrown off.

The man, who has not been named, is recovering in hospital with a broken pelvis.

Tax dispute

The incident happened after a row broke out when it was discovered one of the vehicles involved in the collision did not appear to be taxed.

The drivers of an articulated lorry and a blue VW Jetta were exchanging details when the car driver got back inside his car and attempted to drive away.

A witness tried to remonstrate with him and it is alleged the driver drove at him.

The victim was carried on the bonnet of the car around Clockhouse Roundabout,in Bedfont, south-west, London, on the border with Surrey.

(...)

Car struck:
Seattle celebrates 100 year 'autoversary'

by Eric Sorensen Seattle Times science reporter

(...)

Especially today, 100 years to the day after he reportedly brought the first car into the city of Seattle.

A quick list of what he hath wrought: sprawl, floating bridges that sometimes sink, a Tacoma Narrows Bridge that galloped, Kenmore, the Mercer Mess, the Renton S-curves, drunken drivers, stupid drivers, ferry lines, Lake City Way used-car lots, Aurora Avenue motels, monster trucks in the Kingdome, Dick's hamburgers, HOV lanes, lone drivers in HOV lanes, Tim Eyman.

On so many fronts, the automobile is a major player in our private and public lives. Each year, we spend thousands of dollars on our vehicles and hundreds of hours in them, often waiting. After about eight years, we start sending them to the scrapper.

(...)

Motor vehicles are maddening, prompting otherwise civil people to tick off, tell off, cut off and finally flip off fellow drivers.

Cars and their ilk have cast a shadow over some of our most contentious debates, from King County's numerous mass-transit votes since the '60s, to the recent effort to require state and local governments to spend at least 90 percent of their transportation budgets on road construction and maintenance.

(...)

A mobile culture built on cars

As much as we hate the hassles of Seattle-area driving, we love our cars.

They allow more than half a million people to drive to work in King County, going exactly where they want and, for the most part, when they want, alone.

They bring in millions of dollars in tax revenue.

(...)

Our cars have become our castles. They carry our Big Gulps and travel mugs, boom tunes, cart the kids, and telegraph as much about our personalities as suits and shoes.

(...)

'It's our freedom machine'

Yet the automobile is so much about individuality that Detroit marketers are starting to think like shrinks.

Just last week, The New York Times reported that automakers' research shows sport-utility buyers are less social, "self-oriented" people, while minivan buyers are more self-confident and involved with family, friends and communities.

But more than anything, the car is credited with fusing some of America's most distinctive traits. Different drivers describe those characteristics differently, but a love of freedom threads throughout.

(...)

"It's our freedom machine," Peter Hageman, a vintage-auto collector from Kirkland, said by cell phone from his wife's Ford Explorer. "It's our key to the world."

"The car started with the idea of freedom and independence, which is what this country is about," said Leon James, University of Hawaii psychology professor and owner, with his wife, of a 1991 Dodge Shadow and 1993 Honda Accord. "So the car became like a second flag."

But in recent years, the ideal has taken a few beatings.

"The other side is the reality that is catching up - namely, congestion," said James, co-author of "Road Rage and Aggressive Driving."

"Congestion has created more of an emotional challenge than drivers are prepared to cope with."

As a public issue, transportation in general and congestion in particular have risen to the top of concerns among voters in city and county elections, said Stuart Elway, Seattle pollster and owner of a 1994 Ford Ranger.

(...)

Each year, speeding-related crashes in the state add up to $600 million in medical costs and property damage. By way of comparison, that's roughly the annual value of the state's No. 1 crop, apples.

Jane Holtz Kay, author of "Asphalt Nation: How the Automobile Took Over America and How We Can Take It Back," points out another social cost now that entire communities have been built around the automobile.

While we think of cars as freedom machines, she said, Americans use them for recreational travel only 8 percent of the time and for commuting 22 percent of the time. The rest of the time goes to "the romance of shop and drop," errands and carting kids.

"The servant has become the master," said Kay, who lives in Boston and doesn't own a car.

(...).

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Boy, 9, latest to die
on South Africa's roads of rage

by Tina Susman Newsday

JOHANNESBURG - Random killings rarely make headlines in this country, hardened as it is to violent crime, but the murder of 9-year-old Rethabile Tsunyane has ignited an uncommon display of public anger and bewilderment.

It's not only the age of the victim that has enraged people but also the manner in which he was killed: shot in the face by an impatient motorist while riding in a truck with his parents after a Saturday shopping trip. The shooter thought the truck's driver was going too slowly and, after yelling an obscenity from the window of his vehicle, opened fire.

"He did not cry. There was no screaming. There was only blood, then his hand fell from my shoulder, the bleeding stopped, and I knew my son was dead," Rethabile's father, Vincent, said after the Oct. 30 incident. One week later, Rethabile was buried in a coffin covered with flowers and a large white teddy bear as hundreds of mourners, including friends from his second-grade class, looked on.

Road rage is nothing new in South Africa, where it is rare to drive more than a few miles without witnessing a brazen display of tailgating or obscene gesturing and yelling between motorists. Most incidents that do not involve killings are not reported, police say, because the people involved usually speed off before witnesses or car license numbers can be found. As the country struggles with growing crime, an undermanned police force and general frustration over social and economic problems, there are concerns that violent attacks will increase.

(...)

More than 9,000 people died last year in road accidents in South Africa, according to government statistics - a fatality rate of 140 people per 100,000 vehicles, compared with 20 per 100,000 in the United States. Only Kenya, Morocco, and South Korea have worse fatality rates, according to the National Trauma Research Program.

Rivalries between taxi companies vying for passengers and lucrative routes lead to frequent shootouts at taxi stands and on highways.

In a society steeped in conflict, it's a given that the roads will be afflicted by the same sort of violence hitting business and residential areas, say experts who have studied the subject of road rage. "To summarize, it's a question of culture," said Dr. Leon James, a psychologist at the University of Hawaii, who has studied driving habits throughout the world. "It's a general attitude problem, and it has to do with what our culture has been saying it is OK to express."

In South Africa, where carrying weapons is common and where, for decades, violence was used to end disputes, that means more aggressive driving and a higher tendency toward road rage.

(...)

original here

SLOC official sentenced in road rage case

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A Salt Lake Olympic official was sentenced Wednesday to 10 days in jail for assaulting a pedestrian.

Doug Arnot, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee's managing director of event operations, faced up to six months in jail and $1,850 in fines for the misdemeanor assault charge.

(...)

Court documents state Arnot was driving through an intersection when he exchanged words with Van Orden, who was in the crosswalk. Officials said Arnot made a U-turn to confront Van Orden.

According to the charges, Arnot pulled in front of Van Orden, grabbed him through the driver's-side window and punched him in the face four times.

Arnot apologized to Van Orden and his family in court Wednesday, and said he understood why he would have to spend time in jail.

(...)

Van Orden, who required several stitches to his forehead, has also filed a civil suit against Arnot seeking unspecified compensation for medical costs and emotional distress.

(...)

He has been sentenced to 200 hours of community service and anger management classes in addition to jail time.

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ROAD RAGE IN INDIA

We have had air rage, office rage, road rage and train rage with Mumbai’s commuters. But what we’re witnessing in reality is the surfacing of an innate aggression once confined to the jungles when the fight or flight response meant the difference between life and death. In the urban jungle, this wholly inappropriate response can turn a pacifist into a homicidal maniac.

“Some of the worst offenders are people who are normally docile in their homes. When they get into the car, they become completely different people,” says Colonel Kochar of the Automobile Association of Upper India (AAUI). Even sophisticated socialites are known to turn foul-mouthed when behind a wheel, raising a finger and letting forth a stream of expletives to other drivers.

Class is an interesting trigger in this connection. Many Indians employ uneducated drivers, who have little appreciation for traffic rules, let alone road courtesy. These drivers who cannot read and write, can barely decipher signs and are a menace behind the wheels of the new generation of fast city cars. They never give way to traffic on the right, they ride on your boot, if you allow them to pass, they do so with rude honking only to cut right into your lane and make you swear.

What is even worse is that lady drivers often find themselves the object of this leering male gaze at traffic lights and in the traffic, where they are deliberately ‘teased’.

Some years ago, the AAUI sent a proposal to refuse licenses to drivers who had less than class eight education. While the reason was to promote public safety and ensure obedience to rules, the resistance from politicians was stiff: it would have lost them a vast constituency of truckers, auto drivers and commercial drivers!

Psychiatrists like Dr Leon James have a number of theories for road rage beginning with the fact that the car is much more than a status symbol. His belief is that most drivers regard it as a psychological extension of the self. When we are in traffic, we use these ego-laden objects to control our environment.

Now, there are many things we can’t control in life – our boss, our spouse, health, the weather - but hey, we can control our traffic movements. That’s as good a reason as any to react strongly when we feel thwarted by bad manners and insults. If you study the movements of drivers in traffic, what you will see is a naked power struggle than makes Congressmen look like babies.

Other experts believe practicing defensive driving is a bad idea. It is an essentially a negative approach, because as a survival technique, it enjoins us to make allowances for traffic offenders and reckless bullies on the road. When we do so, we are easily liable to be provoked, and a mellow, defensive driver can turn into an offensive abuser in the blink of an eye.

Usually, it stems from the desire to be ‘first’ and the inability to acknowledge that others may have priority in a particular situation. As two drivers argue, anger escalates with each round of justification, and sometimes a word is enough to result in a gunshot, as happened in Delhi.

“People have become desensitised to violence,” says Delhi psychologist Dr Sanjay Chugh. The more exposure we have to violence in our news, TV, movies and other media, the more currency it gains as a means of self-expression. Coupled with this, is the lack of impulse control. We can control our negative impulses in many trying situations with colleagues and family members, but somehow we lose it when we get into our cars. Psychologists now believe we may have assimilated this attitude from childhood.

Fighting road rage

Yes, it can try the patience of a saint. But if the alternative is to have a coronary, a dangerous banging-slamming match or even assault a fellow traveller, then road rage is something we need to beat out of our systems. One invaluable piece of advice is to adopt an “attitude of latitude.” Let others hog the road, let them display their contempt for good manners and safety rules but don’t let it get to you. The minute you do, you’re in pretty much the same position as they are.

Other bits of practical advice:

*Leave in good time for appointments. One of the most common causes of stress is the anxiety to beat the clock. It makes us drive with our foot on the accelerator and curse every obstacle that forces us to remove it.

*Try not to drive during rush hour if possible. You can either take public transport, employ a driver or share a car pool so you get relief on some days.

*If you see an aggressive driver don’t decide he needs to be taught a lesson. And here’s the golden rule: Always back-down from an argument. It’s not worth ruining your day for a boor you are never going to see again. Become a Buddhist behind the wheel, or better still, a Jain who is forsworn to protect all forms of life from violence. Once you are in this philosophic frame of mind, you might even enjoy driving.

Road Rage Charges

Reported by John Klekamp Web produced by Affaf Arabbo

A Roseville man was charged Tuesday with two counts of assault for crashing into several cars and yelling racial slurs at a black couple in a case of road rage.

The 29-year-old man appeared banged up and bruised when he came into court. The Roseville man was also charged with malicious destruction and ethnic intimidation. He is being held at a $2 million cash bond.

(...)

A Seven Eleven was only one stop in a path of destruction as the man allegedly chased motorists and smashed their cars repeatedly while driving on a revoked license.

Judge Walter Jakubowski of the Warren District Court had much to say to the Roseville man.

"Since I have been sitting on this bench, this is one of the most disgusting cases that has ever been before me," said Judge Jakubowski.

Investigators said the destructive path began on I-696 and ended several miles away leaving a half dozen cars smashed in his wake.

"He was basically ramming people and rear ending people all the way down the lane," said Detective Randall Ricotta of the Warren Police. "Actually everybody who was on the road 10:30 on Saturday night was placed in danger by him."

Police said the man smashed repeatedly into the car of a young black couple and yelled racial slurs at them as they fled.

"You are a danger to the community and a danger to the police officers in this and the citizens who come through this community," said Judge Jakubowski.

At least four people had to go to the hospital as a result of the destructive spree. All of those who were injured are expected to recover.

The Roseville man also faces several traffic charges. Police said he smelled of alcohol and had several alcohol offenses on his record.

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Chauffeur jailed for road rage assault

A CHAUFFEUR who punched a motorist in a road rage incident at Dublin Airport was jailed for three months yesterday.

Patrick Hunter, Edgewood Lawns, Blanchardstown, Dublin was sentenced in his absence after he failed to turn up to answer a charge of assaulting Niall Devine on February 7 last.

Dublin District Court heard Hunter and Mr Devine narrowly avoided a collision as both were negotiating the roundabout at the airport. When they drove up to the barrier at the airport car park entrance, words were exchanged about learning how to use the proper lane. Both then parked their cars but as Mr Devine was walking towards the terminal, Hunter was standing there.

"He waited for me to draw level with him and he stopped and hit me three times," said Mr Devine, who suffered a cut above his eye and swelling to his face but did not require medical treatment. When two airport workers asked what was going on, Hunter said: "This man nearly wrote off a £40,000 car."

An airport policeman arrested Hunter.

In a statement, Hunter apologised and said he had family problems on the day.

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Metro and State Road-rage sentence
outrages victim's father

By Adolfo Pesquera Express-News Staff Writer

The father of a road-rage murder victim criticized as too lenient the 20-year sentence a Corpus Christi man received Monday.

Miguel Alejandro Guerra, 18, was found guilty late Friday of the Sept. 12, 1999, shooting of Donald Morrison, a 20-year-old San Antonio College student.

"Until society starts giving meaningful sentences, our children are going to continue to die," Douglas Morrison of Houston said.

Morrison's son was driving his 1995 Nissan Stanza at about 1 a.m. on a Sunday when three other vehicles followed him into a Coastal Mart parking lot in the 12000 block of West Avenue.

One of five young men from the other vehicles got into an argument with Morrison just outside his car. Morrison was with three friends, but one went into the store to buy beer.

The argument, according to witnesses, was over a traffic incident that occurred only moments earlier. Morrison and his friends did not know the others.

When Morrison attempted to get back into his car, his assailant pulled out a handgun and shot him in the head. He was in critical condition at University Hospital for two weeks before he finally died.

(...)

Jurors considering punishment Monday before visiting District Judge Pat Priest heard prosecutors describe Guerra's criminal past as short but busy. He had been arrested in 1997 on a charge of burglarizing a Corpus Christi elementary school. He also had arrests for criminal trespass, evading an officer and possession of marijuana.

(...)

Guerra, who has been in jail the last 11 months, had asked for probation. The range of punishment was five to 99 years.

original here

Accused road rage attacker
claims victim's face 'hit his fist'

A lawyer accused of punching a motorist in a road-rage incident has claimed the other man's face hit his fist.

The pair had confronted each other after a road accident in Singapore.

The lawyer claimed in court that the other driver suddenly swung his head round and connected with his hand, which was holding a mobile phone.

Edmund Wong Sin Yee, 43, is charged with assaulting Mok Gok Keong and alarming Mr Mok's wife by shouting at her.

Wong claims the "hit" was accidental. He said he thought Mr Mok, 32, was going to leave the scene of the crash so he grabbed the print company director to stop him.

As he did so, Mr Mok swung his head round, The Straits Times reports.

The trial continues.

orignal here

After minor accident, driver is fatally shot

James Payne was fleeing 2 men when one opened fire.

Ann Davies, 36, (top) of Darby Township, comforts daughter Candyce Burton, 11, in their living room as they watch a TV report on the death of Davies' father, James Payne (bottom). (Peter Tobia/Inquirer) Related Links

By Barbara Boyer, Monica Rohr and Tom Infield INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS

On most nights, James Payne could be found at the Queen of Sheba II Pub on Baltimore Avenue, the bar on the first floor of his apartment building, where the lifelong auto detailer who was very fastidious about his own car and whom friends described as a charmer would stop every evening after work.

On Tuesday, however, he had gone out. He drove his beloved 1985, cream-colored Ford LTD Crown Victoria - a car family members said he washed, or at least wiped down, every day - and was gunned down moments after getting into a minor accident a few blocks from his home.

"There was minor damage, which makes this all the more senseless that somebody's life would be taken," said Philadelphia Homicide Capt. James Brady. "It's just irrational."

Shortly before 10, the 65-year-old Payne, who family members said had been detailing cars for 51 years, got into an accident at 45th Street and Springfield Avenue, according to an account that witnesses gave police.

His Crown Vic struck the passenger side of another car, a dark-colored compact with two men inside. Words were exchanged, and one of the men may have gotten out of the compact car to look at the damage, witnesses told police. Payne quickly left, however, and the other car followed, police said.

"Whether he left the scene because he was scared or because they flashed a gun is unclear," Brady said.

In any case, the compact car caught up with the Ford several blocks away, on the 4500 block of Pine Street.

One of the men in the compact car then shot at Payne several times with a semiautomatic gun, said police, who last night were searching for witnesses at the shooting scene. The bullets went through the driver's-side door, striking Payne several timesin the chest and arm.

Brady said the gunman shot at Payne through the window, either from his own car or from outside the vehicle. Shell casings littered the ground.

The car, with the mortally wounded Payne inside, continued to roll and then struck a tree at 46th and Pine, police said. The compact car drove off.

"It's a classic case of road rage," Brady said.

(...)

Based on the forensic evidence, Brady said, it appears that there was little damage to both cars at the accident scene and that no one was injured. He said police would analyze paint chips and other debris to determine the color, make and model of the vehicle that the two men fled in.

(...)

original here

CAR WASH RAGE

Wage the War on Rage

Editor: We have evolved into a generation of hurried people with things to do, places to go and people to see, while doing too much--in high gear--in too little time. The days seem to be too short, and the lack of time seems to take away our patience and judgment. Road rage seems to be on the rise. We witness it daily on highways, on city streets and even in parking lots. Everyone is in a hurry, no one wants to wait anymore, especially for service.

The rage is evident even in carwashes. Waiting in the carwash line seems to be a big challenge for some people. Many hard working employees have become targets for verbal abusers who never seem to be satisfied with the service. Sometimes a clean shiny vehicle just isn't enough anymore. In their hour of mounting rage, customers complain about damages that were in most cases present before they entered the carwash. It seems that some customers have a need to vent pent-up inner aggressions in the carwash line.

As the years go on the complaints seem to be increasing in number, not only at the local carwash but in other establishments as well. Have you noticed some bizarre behavior at the mall lately? In Michigan not too long ago a female customer was arrested for physically attacking a sales person in a department store, and all due to service, or in this case the customer's perception of poor service.

With this in mind just what is the average customer's perception of service today? How can we as business persons prepare ourselves to provide acceptable standards of service in the new millenium? People today are running, phoning, faxing and driving in the fast lane. The profile of the average customer in the year 2000 shows a person in need of quick, worry-free service from everyone! Customers crave that instant gratification whether in restaurants, malls, department stores or even in carwashes. They want good, fast service to their pace and their satisfactions.

The industry must understand these needs in order to provide dependable service with healthy, positive attitudes. That's why we believe service should be the number one priority for our customers.

Keep in mind the objective of this industry is to keep customers happy so they will come back and use our services again and again. Thus it is up to us to understand the rage that has been evolving in our society. Through understanding, patience, staff development and mentorship with our employees, along with good service, we should be able to wage the war against rage. Remember, the squeaky wheel doesn't always get the oil, especially when rage is present.

Bernard "Bernie" Ephraim Cul-Mac Industries, Wayne,

original here

Are Men Better Than Apes When Road Rage Strikes?
A Conversation with Dr. Joyce Brothers

ROCKLEIGH, N.J., June 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Road rage is an increasingly dangerous phenomenon. It's been estimated the number of incidents increases by 7% per year, yet surprisingly there are virtually no statistics to prove its effect on vehicular accidents. ``Basically we're very frustrated with this issue. We can't engineer safety devices that detect the onset of extreme mood changes and we can't take control of a vehicle. There comes a point when drivers must take personal responsibility for their actions. In the end, how we control our anger is the best offense/defense against this growing problem,'' states Christer Gustafsson, Senior Safety Engineer at Volvo's head office in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Are we becoming more aggressive? Are there early signs of this behavior? Are the trigger mechanisms different for men than women? Can road rage be controlled? Volvo asked Dr. Joyce Brothers, an internationally recognized psychologist to answer those questions.

(...)

``Men and women have different road rage triggers. Men perceive the vehicle as a safe zone, a metal protection shell that shields them from outside world. Much like an animal protects its domain, violating a personal space sets off something that turns otherwise normal, nice guy next door, person into a tiger. When this happens, men are at the same mental level as an ape -- a being who protects his space, at all costs and without logical thought as to the consequences.

``Women, on the other hand, have lists. They like order and structure. Off to food shop, pick up dry cleaning, haul children from school to soccer to home. Their lists can be long and over ambitious. When they start running out of time, their list deteriorates and so does their ability to react logically to potentially dangerous driving situations.

``Road rage can be controlled. Not easily, but by recognizing what sets you off and then considering behavioral alternatives, one can encounter a dangerous situation and still remain in control.''

(...)

Men: A vehicle is a dangerous weapon. The law of physics is unforgiving -- speed and mass can be lethal.

Women: Keep lists and appointments reasonable. If you can, prioritize your day's schedule and factor in delays beyond your control.

Road Rage -- The Consequences And Cure

How should one handle rage? What are the consequences of letting it all hang out? What do we teach our children about anger and if we have a terrible temper, do we need professional help? If you'd like to compare your views with those of some experts, here's your chance.

1. Men and women tend to handle anger in different ways. True False

2. Children should be taught that anger and rage are no-nos and that these are not acceptable feelings. True False

3. In order for people to change their patterns of expressing temper, they need to seek professional help. True False

4. Parents can't, and don't, pass on their anger and aggressive behavior to their children. True False

5. Expressing anger by yelling, or simply letting it all hang out, diminishes it and is generally productive. True False

6. When a young child has a temper tantrum, give him what he/she wants and explain it in detail later. True False

7. Anger never serves a useful purpose. True False

8. Humor is always the best release for anger and the best way to get back at the person causing the rage. True False

Dr. Brothers answers: 1. True. Males are allowed much more freedom to express anger than females. Females learn from an early age that it isn't lady-like to explode or express anger directly. This causes many problems when these little girls mature into women.

2. False. Children should be taught that it's all right to feel angry and that this needn't be a denial of love. Both emotions can exist together. What they do need to be taught is how to control rage so that it isn't destructive to others, nor to themselves. They need to find constructive, productive channels.

3. False. This isn't always necessary. We can change and learn new patterns or behavior of our own if we're motivated. Often when we're angry, it helps merely to take time and count to ten ... also try writing down feelings, before verbalizing them, record when you feel angry and what precipitates it. Analyze the results and try quietly talking and listening to others, rather than screaming.

4. False. They do. Children learn to be aggressive by imitating their role models, and, unfortunately, aggressive children turn into aggressive adults unless this pattern is broken. While there may be a link between hormones, environment, and some traits toward aggression may be inherited, environment plays a strong role.

5. False. This is a dangerous myth. It doesn't diminish, it increases the rage not only in the person who's angry, but also in everyone around him or her. This is counterproductive, as rage is highly contagious.

6. False. Temper tantrums should never be rewarded. If possible, reassure the child with hugs, if the youngster is old enough reassure through language, but explain that you may have to remove him or her briefly in order to protect the needs of others.

7. False. It does serve a useful purpose. It may serve as a warning to others, that they've gone too far and crossed certain boundaries. There are also many legitimate reasons to be angry.

8. False. Humor can be a wonderful release for anger and tension, but it can also be used as a mask and a sadistic means for a coward not to face the results of his or her own emotions. It can be highly productive or counter-productive, depending upon the way it's being used.

``If you answered six of these eight questions correctly, you're better informed than most on this issue,'' states Dr. Brothers.

(...)

Summertime road rage Majority of incidents happen on hot, sunny days

By Jim Avila NBC NEWS July 3 — As Americans scramble to get a head start on the July 4th holiday, many will find rage growing on the American road. The numbers show overly aggressive drivers on the rise, with sometimes deadly results.

IT’S “getaway day,” and with more than 30 million drivers on hot summer roads, it’s prime time for road rage. A 1999 AAA survey found that 68 percent of aggressive driving incidents happen on hot, sunny days and 27 percent on Fridays, the traditional getaway day. “Road rage is like in the top five in regards to what the citizen concerns are in the state,” says Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Ron Woods. In Denver, Colorado State Patrol units began a Metro Aggressive Driving Team this week. Unmarked cars descend on rush hour hot spots in a road rage crackdown. “We are starting to see more road rage type incidents where there is really a lot of aggression to the point that they are forcing people off the road and maybe brandishing a weapon,” says Woods.

(...)

At least 1,500 drivers are victims of road rage each year. In Sacramento, Calif. in May, there was an incident where two men in their 50’s exchanged hand gestures and swear words, ending in death. Donald Bell was charged with shooting another driver to death. “Its the last thing in the world that I ever wanted to happen,” said Bell at the time. Distraught over his own road rage, Bell returned to the scene of the accident two weeks later and shot himself to death. “Its just not worth it,” says Sgt. James Lewis of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. “The reality is, say what you have to say under your breath and let it go.” Advertisement

Who are the most aggressive drivers? Experts say younger drivers in any car. Men are more aggressive than women when behind the wheel of sports cars or pick-ups. Women more aggressive than men when driving SUV’s and luxury cars. Dr. Leon James, studies road rage at the University of Hawaii and says no driver is immune. “We discovered for the first time in human history, that every driver behind the wheel has murderous thoughts,” says Dr. James. It’s so widespread that the state of Georgia passed a new aggressive driving law that takes effect this week — weaving, cutting off or tailgating with the intent to annoy, harass, or intimidate can result in a 12-month jail sentence, $5,000 fine, and six points on the driver’s record. One tip to avoid anger behind the wheel comes from author Dr. Diane Nahl — to amuse yourself “Make funny noises,” says Nahl. “Once you start doing that, it’s incompatible with hostility.” It’s one suggestion for calming aggression on one of the nation’s busiest travel holidays and a hot getaway summer day.

original story here (with video)

By Joe Gerrety, Journal and Courier

Road rage could be the motive for the murders of two South Korean students at Purdue University last week, according to court documents filed today.

Zhan Yin, 27, the Chinese national and Purdue doctoral student in biology who has confessed the Aug. 2 murders, told police he had committed the first murder before he even knew his victim was the sister of a fellow student.

Yeunkyung Woo, 31, also a Purdue doctoral student in biology, and her sister, Hyo Kyung Woo, 29, her sister visiting from Chicago, were found dead in Yeunkyung Woo's Purdue Village apartment Aug. 2. Their bodies were found in pools of blood with their heads and torsos covered with blankets.

During an extradition flight back from New York last week, according to court documents, Yin told Purdue Police Chief Linda Stump that he had been riding his bicycle on Arnold Drive in Purdue Village when he was nearly hit by a car.

He became angry and followed the car. Its driver, Hyo Kyung Woo, parked and entered the apartment at 151-9 Arnold Drive. Yin told Stump he entered the apartment behind Woo and struck her in the head from behind with a hammer he had been carrying in his backpack.

After he had struck her several times, he took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her in the throat. After moving Woo's body to the bedroom, he began cleaning up the apartment.

(...)

Oklahoma Road Rage Case

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - An Oklahoma jury sentenced a man to 1,050 years in prison for a ``road rage'' incident in which he dragged a woman trapped beneath his car for more than 700 feet, court officials said on Friday.

Keith LaJuan Jones, 44, was sentenced to 750 years for intentionally injuring Vivian Williams, who survived the ordeal.

``She is so horribly injured. It was some of the hardest evidence I've ever seen,'' said Oklahoma District Judge Twyla Mason Gray, who presided over Jones' trial and sentencing.

(...)

Court officials said the chain of events that led to Jones' conviction began when he was involved in a non-injury accident during a visit to a convenience store in January 1997.

After leaving the store, court officials said, he deliberately rammed another car, then drove to a bank parking lot and intentionally struck Williams, wedging her under his car.

Officials said Jones dragged her alive and screaming, ignoring bank employees who yelled and pointed at the woman trapped beneath the car as he drove off.

Williams eventually became dislodged from the car's wheels. She has undergone 14 surgeries and is expected to have more.

(...)

By Nicole Bellamy, ZDNet Australia

An answer to road rage? A new Australian service lets drivers send e-mail and SMS text messages any car owner they come across, using license plate numbers as identification.

DriverSMS, a division of Australian-owned WAM Communications Group, has released a service that allows vehicle-owners to contact one another via their mobile phones.

The service uses registration numbers as a unique means of identification, and enables its customers to receive and send e-mail and real-time SMS messages to any registered vehicle-owner in Australia.

(...)

Drivers simply register at the Driver SMS Web site, listing their license plate number and mobile phone number. Once registered, they are then able to contact any registered vehicle-owner in Australia.

The service is accessible across all Australian carriers, and is built on a robust, scaleable system that increases the feasibility--and ease--of rollouts in other countries.

(...)

Restaurant-chain McDonald's is one organization that has been approached. Driver SMS has stated that it is in discussion with McDonald's over a potential sponsorship agreement that could see its marketing messages included in text messages sent using the DriverSMS service.

According to Ayling, the sponsorship will be a "good fit", as it would complement the SMS marketing campaign McDonald's has embarked upon recently.

Sponsorship dollars are also the sole external-revenue source of DriverSMS, given that--for the moment, at least-it is offered as a free service. According to the Driver SMS Web site, this price structure may change within the next year, and a paid subscription element may be introduced.

(...)

DriverSMS would appear to be a prime target for legal focus, given the recent introduction of Australian laws that prohibit speaking on mobile phones while driving. Ayling suggests this is not the case, as DriverSMS customers are not actively encouraged to use the service while driving.

"Drivers can wait until they pull in somewhere, leave the car, or ask a passenger to send the message. We are certainly not encouraging people to (text-and-drive)."

He also refuted claims that this service will increase the number of road rage incidents, claiming that it may, in fact, lessen the number physical confrontations that have come to be associated with such incidents.

"The problem with road rage is that people get out of the car and cause a violent scene. Using the DriverSMS service means people can remain in their cars, (which) lessens the opportunity for physical (violence)."

original here