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Pedestrian Psychology and Safety

Compiled and assembled by Dr. Leon James

Did you know these facts?

• Over one million pedestrians were killed or injured in the US in 1995, according to DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics at: http://www.bts.gov/
  
• In 1994, 18 percent of all pedestrian fatalities were older people.
  
• Males accounted for 67 percent of total fatalities, 68 percent of all pedestrian fatalities.
  
• In 1994, there were 5,472 pedestrian fatalities which represented 13 percent of total fatalities.
  
• On average, a pedestrian is killed in a motor vehicle crash every 96 minutes.
  
• More than one-third of children between 5 and 9 years old killed in motor vehicle crashes were pedestrians.
  
• Nearly 100,000 pedestrians are injured in motor vehicle accidents each year in the United States, with a majority of these accidents taking place in urban areas.

Even though there are fewer drivers on U.S. roads at night, the risk of death in a traffic accident more than doubles when darkness falls, the government's national accident database shows. In 1996, there were more than 18,000 drivers or passengers killed in nighttime car crashes. About 3,500 pedestrians and 368 bicyclists also were killed. See original story.

On average, a pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash every 107 minutes.

There were 85,000 pedestrians injured in traffic crashes in 1999.

On average, a pedestrian is injured in a traffic crash every 6 minutes.

In 1999, almost one-fourth (24 percent) of all children between the ages of 5 and 9 years who were killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians.

Nearly one-fifth (19 percent) of all traffic fatalities under age 16 were pedestrians, and 7 percent of all the people under age 16 who were injured in traffic crashes were pedestrians.

Older pedestrians (ages 70+) accounted for 18 percent of all pedestrian fatalities and 6 percent of all pedestrians injured. The death rate for this group, both males and females, was 3.49 per 100,000 population — higher than for any other age group.

Table 1. Pedestrians Killed and Injured by Age Group, 1999

"About 80,000 pedestrians are injured in motor vehicle crashes annually in this country and, during the 1990s, 5,000 to 6,000 pedestrians have died each year.

Based on population, children younger than age 16 are most likely to be struck by motor vehicles. Pedestrians ages 10-15 have the highest nonfatal injury rates. Elderly pedestrians, though less frequently struck than children, are more likely to die after being struck. The pedestrian death rate per capita among people age 65 and older has decreased since 1950, but this age group still has the highest pedestrian death rates. Starting at age 65, the rate is nearly twice as high as it is for people younger than 65. Males are more likely than females to be in pedestrian collisions. Males constitute about 70 percent of pedestrian deaths each year.

A substantial number of pedestrian injuries occur at intersections. About 39 percent of nonfatal injuries and 18 percent of fatal injuries to pedestrians occur in collisions with motor vehicles at intersections. In urban areas, the proportion of pedestrian injuries at intersections is greater than in nonurban areas. An examination of fatal pedestrian crashes in four U.S. cities found 40 percent of those involving vehicles other than large trucks happened at intersections, and 51 percent of fatal pedestrian crashes involving large trucks occurred at intersections. A substantial number of urban pedestrian crashes involve turning vehicles, particularly left-turning vehicles.

Most pedestrians are struck by the front of a passenger vehicle. What happens next depends on a number of factors, including vehicle speed and the relative heights of the pedestrian, vehicle front end, and bumper, but pedestrians usually are not "run over" by motor vehicles. The bumper usually strikes a child's upper leg, and the front edge of the hood strikes the torso. An adult may be struck in the lower leg by the bumper and in the upper leg by the front edge of the hood. At impact speeds slower than 10-12 mph, these may be the only contacts between the pedestrian and the vehicle but, at higher speeds, pedestrians usually slide over the front edge of the hood before their upper bodies strike the vehicle."

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Home>Articles on Road Rage and Aggressive Driving

See also: Pedestrian Psychology and Safety | Drivers Against Pedestrians | Pedestrian Rage | Bicycling and Motorcycling | Safe Routes Program  |

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Drivers Against Pedestrians

How to Change Attitudes
Checklist for Your Tendency to Pressure Pedestrians
Your Emotional Intelligence Towards Pedestrians

Leon James, Ph.D.
Diane Nahl, Ph.D.

www.DrDriving.org

See also: Pedestrian Traffic safety

The spectrum of road users in a community includes drivers, bicyclists, passengers, and pedestrians, all vying with each other for space and pacing rights. It's frightening to realize that drivers kill and injure pedestrians at an alarming rate:

• In 1998, about 7,000 pedestrians were killed by vehicles.

• About 100,000 pedestrians are injured by motor vehicles each year in the U.S.

• Since 1990, about 70,000 pedestrians have been killed and 700,000 were injured.

• The U.S. pedestrian death rate is 2 people killed for every 100,000.

• Pedestrians ages 10-15 have the highest nonfatal injury rates.

• Elderly pedestrians are more likely to die after being struck.

• Men constitute about 70 percent of annual pedestrian deaths.

• About 18 percent of fatal injuries 39 percent of nonfatal injuries to pedestrians occur at intersections.

Across California more than 1,000 crosswalks have disappeared in recent years. Traffic engineers claim that crosswalk lines sometimes lull pedestrians into a false sense of security.⁴ New studies indicate that crosswalks in the middle of a block and at intersections without stop signs or traffic lights often encourage pedestrians to drop their guard and step in front of speeding vehicles. Officials estimate that when a pedestrian is hit, 75 percent of the time the pedestrian is at fault. Safety experts point to these common emotionally unintelligent pedestrian behaviors:

• Looking down when stepping into a marked crosswalk;

• Looking up only after barging into the street;

• Looking down while proceeding through a marked crosswalk;

• Proceeding into the intersection too late (Yellow light or Don’t Walk sign);

• Looking at the nearest car but ignoring approaching cars in the second or third lanes that are less visible;

• Failing to monitor the speed of an approaching car, assuming the driver will see the walker;

• Walking while impaired (drugs, alcohol, medication, rage, fatigue);

• Walking in dim light conditions (dusk, night, daybreak) wearing non-reflective clothing, assuming drivers can see walkers.

Pedestrians have the right of way when they enter either a marked crosswalk or an intersection with no white lines, but if they don't allow cars enough time to stop drivers are more likely to injure them. One pedestrian complained about drivers:

They use their cars almost as weapons and get mad at me when I'm crossing with the walk signal on. I'm legally in the right, but I could be legally dead. (Older woman)

and a cab driver agrees:

Pedestrians? They take their lives in their own hands. They're crazy to walk in this city because we're out to get 'em. It's Fahrenheit 451 time around here. Yeah, cab drivers have no use for pedestrians. (Middle aged man)

Anyone who's been in a major city has experienced the aggressive attitude of many drivers toward people on foot. The driver sees someone in a crosswalk, speeds up fast and slams to a halt on the heels of the person. Sound familiar?  Pedestrians are threatened daily in cities by drivers who use aggressive tactics to force walkers to the curb:

I see them crossing on campus. Of course they cross all over the road as if it's a walkway or a mall instead of a street with cars passing through. I hate them. I disapprove of their taking the right to block me. I wish something bad would happen to them. This happens everyday, so I have experience dealing with them. They tend to poke along, so I drive up fast and as close as I can to them to make them hurry up. You should see how they scurry then. (Young woman)

This is the "me vs. them" mentality toward pedestrians. Many motorists don't mind routinely using their vehicle to intimidate defenseless people on foot. Drivers justify their road rage against pedestrians by accusing them in their minds of walking too slow, as if they didn't care that they're blocking the vehicle's progress. In short, pedestrians are just in their way:

Now I see a stop sign ahead but I'm not going to stop completely because I'm late. I'll just inch forward to make him go quicker. He could walk faster to be more considerate. (Older woman)

If we behaved this way towards people we know we would be regarded as self-centered and selfish, and many would avoid us. But in the prevailing culture of disrespect on the road, coercive driving behavior is considered normal. Drivers who are fully tolerant and respectful of pedestrians exist, not by birth or culture but as a result of training their traffic emotions.

By law, the pedestrian's safety takes precedence over the motorist's desire to get someplace. Law and logic dictate that the people on foot must receive preferential treatment even when they jaywalk. And it's not up to drivers to make pedestrians do the right thing. Nor is it up to pedestrians to make drivers behave. Yet many drivers don't hesitate to herd pedestrians, or to use their car like a cutting horse to place pedestrians where the driver wants them.

The driver's questionable reasoning is: You're invading my driving space, my domain where I'm in charge of what happens, my car is bigger than you, so I can make you behave. But this is a fantasy. Motorists aren't really in charge of the streets, and they have certain legal responsibilities toward pedestrians, to protect their safety and to give them the right of way. If you unthinkingly engage in aggressive emotions and acts against pedestrians, you're at risk of generalizing this negativity to co-workers, family members, and pets.

Changing Attitudes Toward Pedestrians

If drivers are territorial about the roads, pedestrians see things differently and they too are prone to road rage. When motorists approach a crosswalk and cross the safety line, they have intruded into pedestrian territory. Pedestrians automatically interpret this invasion of space as a deliberate challenge to their rights and safety. Pedestrians who feel threatened by drivers may have thoughts of vengeance:

I noticed the feeling of fear, either for my own safety or the safety of another pedestrian, just prior to feelings of aggression toward drivers. I feel a need to retaliate and I do it mentally by cursing drivers and wishing bad things would happen to them. I also glare at them and give them dirty looks. After an incident it takes several hours for these aggressive feelings to subside. I'm surprised by how much hate I feel for drivers who try to intimidate me when I'm an innocent and delicate pedestrian. I get momentary satisfaction by getting even, but later I feel guilty and ashamed that I'm so hostile when I believe in being peaceful. (Older man).

Even if the extremes are mostly mental and emotional, everyone is capable of venting hostility inwardly and overtly. It can be terrifying when this happens to well-meaning drivers who make unwitting mistakes:

After my doctor appointment I came slowly out of the parking garage. The drive is very steep and only flattens out on the sidewalk portion. There was another car exiting, so I had to stay on the steep part for a few seconds until he left. I thought he was leaving, so  I went up onto the sidewalk a little, but then he stopped again, so the sidewalk was only about two feet wide between our cars. It wouldn't have mattered, except for the fact that an odd looking man approached down the sidewalk and began touching the hood of my car as he walked by it. Then he turned to me and said something I couldn't hear, shaking his finger at me.
 

The car ahead of me left, and I waited for the weird pedestrian to pass by, but I was feeling scared that he might do something dangerous. He passed by and I began to move forward, but suddenly he came back, right into my path. I braked hard and he continued to move in front of my car with something in his hand. I knew he couldn't hear me, but I automatically said, "Be careful now." He raised his hand and threw something at me. A big green ball hit my windshield, right in my face, blocking my view for a second. I decided I had to escape, so I swerved around him and left quickly. My heart was pounding and my head throbbed. I felt lucky that he hadn't thrown a rock or tried to get into my car. It took me an hour to get over the fear, and now I'll worry about mean things happening while I'm in the car.

I thought about it later, trying to decide what I could've done to avoid that confrontation. I could've backed down the ramp to accommodate him. He might have appreciated that, been appeased. I thought of it at the time, but decided it was too much trouble, but maybe I was wrong. It's a lot more trouble to experience that confrontation and its aftermath. I could've been more helpful and considerate of the person walking. (Middle aged woman)

 
It's easy to feel challenged in either the driver or the pedestrian role because the same emotions are evoked in both roles by the basic emotional intelligence issues they contain:

• Who has the right of way (pedestrians always do by law)

• What distance to keep away from each other (drivers: avoid crowding pedestrians; pedestrians: do not dart between cars or touch them)

• How to handle interactions appropriately (driver and pedestrian both can avoid showing hostile faces or gestures of impatience and displeasure)

Drivers who examine carefully how they relate to pedestrians often discover that they hold many unfavorable attitudes. Working with many drivers has proved to us that people have the capacity to become compassionate drivers and that altruism on the road exists in many forms:

There's a pedestrian and she looks like she's a jogger, dressed like that. I better speed up faster so as not to slow her down. I wonder what my exhaust smells like to her and whether she's going to get a whiff that might choke her or make her cough. Yeah, I worry about that. How do I know how much I stink and what do I do about it? I suppose most cars don't, or do they? I'll need to check my car for that. I'll smell it when I get home. (Middle aged woman)

Practicing small kindnesses brings many benefits to you and to pedestrians.

Checklist: Your Tendency to Pressure Pedestrians

Aggressive drivers have many excuses for pressuring pedestrians. Many of the aggressive strategies we use are hidden from us until we monitor our traffic emotions. How many of these items describe you under certain conditions?

I put pressure on pedestrians when…

1.     _____ I'm in an unpleasant mood

2.     _____ I feel sick or in pain

3.     _____ I'm in a rush

4.     _____ I'm in unfamiliar territory

5.     _____ I'm daydreaming, not being alert

6.     _____ I don't feel like making an extra effort for them

7.     _____ I goof up sometimes (like seeing them too late), but I don't feel like being nice about it after

8.     _____ It's too early in the day and I'm trying to wake up

9.     _____ It's too late in the day and I'm trying to stay awake

10. _____ I'm prejudiced against pedestrians according to age, gender, size, appearance, or ethnic background

11. _____ I think that cars should always have the right of way, for obvious reasons of weight and speed

12.      _____ I like to see them cower, as they should, given my larger size

Checklist:  Emotional Intelligence Towards Pedestrians

The items are arranged in two emotional intelligence areas:

• Knowledge and obedience to laws and safety principles, especially right-of-way issues (items 1 to 9)

• ·Social responsibility towards pedestrians, including tolerance, caring, and friendliness (items 10 to 14)
  
  
  

1.  Pedestrians always have the right of way over cars.

Yes              No

2.  I'm happy to slow down for pedestrians and give them all the time they need to cross safely.

Yes              No

3.  Drivers should watch out for pedestrians no matter what.

Yes              No

4.  Drivers who have the green light at an intersection are still required to yield if a pedestrian jaywalks.

Yes              No

5.  I wait for individuals to pass before beginning a turn.

Yes              No

6.  I keep the car behind crosswalk lines.

Yes              No

7.  I slow down gradually when approaching pedestrians and drive away gradually after pedestrians pass.

Yes              No

8.  I stop a few feet away from walkers as they pass.

Yes              No

9.  I give pedestrians all the time they take to walk past the car before starting to go.

Yes              No

10.  I wear a pleasant expression when pedestrians can see it.

Yes              No

11.  If walkers wave in appreciation, I smile and wave back.

Yes              No

12.  If I make a mistake and threaten them unwittingly, I try to apologize.

Yes              No

13.  I avoid honking, yelling, and gesturing offensively near pedestrians.

Yes              No

14.  I don't retaliate if pedestrians do something rude or incorrect, or try to teach them a lesson.

Yes              No

Is it easier to answer Yes for the first 9 items and harder to say Yes to items 10-14? We know that pedestrians always have the right of way and are legally protected from drivers using the car to threaten them. But when we're sitting behind the wheel and driving under the influence of reptilian emotions, our logic wobbles and our memory clouds over.

Sample Pedestrian Self-Witnessing Report by a Student

This report has really helped me to focus on my pedestrian personality.  I just never thought about it.  I was walking around unconsciously, I guess.  Once in a while I would catch a glimpse of myself in the reflection of a window and I would be surprised.  Hey, that's me.  Do I look like this? kind of thing.  I observed myself under three conditions.  One was the hallway and staircase of the building where I take an evening class.  The second was our local shopping center.  And the third was at the beach.  I held my little cassette tape recorder in the hand and kept it under my chin.  I had draped a jacket over my arm and was holding a brown bag.  I tried to act like I was in a hurry and anxious to get somewhere.  I didn't see anybody show awareness that I was talking into the tape recorder from time to time.

Hallway and staircase:

Well, here I am again.  And here they are.  Just look at that crowd.  People everywhere.  C'mon folks, stay out of my please.  Look at those two standing at the bottom of the stairway.  C'mon you guys don't stand there.  Here I come.

 (Here I should add some explanations.  I was determined to pass through without slowing down even if I had to bump one of the guys.  I felt justified because they were doing something wrong.  They should not be blocking the way.  There was plenty room for them to step aside against the wall.  Why do they have to talk in the middle of the staircase entrance?  I felt outraged and prepared to do violence.)

OK, that was a bump.  My shoulder against his.  It felt like he gave way.  I put muscle into it.  I wanted him to feel a sharp pain for a few seconds.  I'm not going to look behind.  I'm not going to apologize.  In a way I'm glad.  I succeeded in teaching this individual a lesson without having to slow down and waste my time.  Watch out here comes some idiot person walking down the wrong side of the staircase.  I'm not gonna let him get away with it.

At this point I kept going up the staircase on the right hand side.  I squared my shoulders and looked down, waiting for the collision.  The other man tried to get down through my left side but two people were right behind me so he had to turn his shoulders vertically to squeeze through.  He could've made it if I had also turned my left shoulder slightly.  But I wouldn't.  So he bumped me, expecting me to yield under the force.  But I was ready.  I pumped my chest and shoulder muscle and held my arm tight.  The result was that he fell on top of the two guys that were right behind me.  They had to steady themselves against the handrail in order not to go tumbling all the way down.  Me I just kept going without looking back.  There was an evil little smile of satisfaction on my face.

Shopping Mall:

(This time I was not just acting like I'm in a hurry.  I was.  I stayed too long at the coffee shop.  I could've left a few minutes earlier but I kept not leaving.  Just looking at all the people doing basically nothing.)

Damn.  Damn.  Damn.  All these people are crowding in here.  I can't understand why they have to be here at this hour.  Usually this hour there is hardly anybody.  Excuse me.  Excuse me.  I'm sorry.  Excuse me.  I can't stand it how slow they are moving.  Look at that weird looking guy.  Strange hair.  Wow, look at that chick.  I hate people who walk so slow.  I hate people who stand in the way.  Excuse me.  They act like I don't exist.  Excuse me.  Oh no, I hate tourists who walk shoulder to shoulder three at a time.  Excuse me can I go by please.  Hello, excuse me.

Look at this couple coming at me on the wrong side of the sidewalk.  Tourists.  Don't they know you're supposed to walk on the right hand side.  Why are they so stupid?  Maybe in their own country they walk on the left, but here you're supposed to walk on the right you idiots.  They should get lessons in walking when they come into the country.  I'm not going to pass them on the left.  I just can't do that.  They've got to learn that in this place we walk on the right and we don't just block a public walkway.  Damn.

 To explain what happened.  The couple just kept coming at me expecting me to pass them on my left.  There was plenty of room.  So when we came up face to face I had to stop, and they had to stop.  They both smiled and started laughing and talking in an agitated way.  Of course I didn't know what they were jabbering about.  Finally I stepped to my left and started walking again.  I felt stupid and embarrassed.  Why didn't I just go the left to begin with.  Why did I have to make a big scene with them.  Well, I wasn't happy with my pedestrian personality.)

Home>Articles on Road Rage and Aggressive Driving

See also: Pedestrian Psychology and Safety | Drivers Against Pedestrians | Pedestrian Rage | Bicycling and Motorcycling | Safe Routes Program  |

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Get yourself a DrDriving's PASS

by Dr. Leon James

PEDESTRIAN AGGRESSIVENESS SYNDROME SCALE (PASS)

These 15 bad behaviors define the pedestrian aggressiveness syndrome. They are all significantly intercorrelated. This means that if you do one of them regularly, you will also do many of the other 14 on a regular basis. You need a pedestrian personality overhaul--see above.

=======

Walking is not just getting from one place to another. A pedestrian does not just move through physical space, but at the same time through social space and mental space. Social space maps out normative paths, selecting some physical motion as allowable, and others as not allowable. Walkers suddenly stop as they seem mesmerized by their tiny mobile device. They are violating normative paths allowing themselves to compel nearby pedestrians in both directions to negotiate their way around the physical block.

These walkers are now navigating in mental space as they strive to avoid embarrassing and sometimes painful collisions with each other. Their mental space tends to be in a negative environment filled with dark clouds and screeching owls. Their mental space is now populated with screaming rageful thoughts portraying butchering fantasies. These inner realities break out into physical space where they are portrayed as verbal exclamations of annoyance, derogation and punishment.

Walking around with intolerance and disapproval produces emotional depression and moral corruption. The more negative are my mental spaces as a walker, the more stressful the walk and consequently, the more unhealthy. Although I have seen no evidence of research it is my opinion that the habit of rageful walking has become a major mental health hazard, and consequently, a major hazard on our physical health.

Sidewalk rage is therefore a weakening of the community bonds that hold us together.

In our book Road Rage and Aggressive Driving (2000) we describe the Symptoms of the Age of Rage (see Chapter 1—Driving in the Age of Rage):

Facing the Culture of Disrespect
And the President warned us about the decline of sportsmanship, where "winning ugly" has become the popular model, and unrepentant bullies deliberately contribute to an atmosphere of unsportsmanlike behavior with profanity, kicking trash cans, insulting referees, making ugly shows of defiance, participating in field brawls, and denigrating fans in media interviews.

A culture of rage also prevails in the driving arena. Everyone knows about it, and everybody talks about it. The adversarial attitude common in driving is similar to disputes and disagreements in the workplace, in the family, and in personal relationships. Aggressiveness among motorists adds a dysfunctional element to driving as a social institution or activity. Some drivers go overboard in applying the defensive driving principle, emphasizing suspiciousness and a readiness to criticize or expect the worst of others.

This generation will be characterized as the "Age of Rage," typified in popular book titles and headlines that herald, and accurately reflect, society's deep involvement in the rage experience:

•                The Culture of Rage

•                The Culture of Criticism

•                The Culture of Violence

•                The Culture of Disrespect

•                The Culture of Aggression

•                The Culture of Cynicism

•                The Culture of Fear

•                The Argument Culture

Negative thoughts behind the wheel act like mental pollutants, decreasing the enjoyment of driving and increasing its noxious by-products--stress, higher blood pressure, frustration, pessimism, and less effective mental productivity that influences health, workplace, and family life. For millions, driving has become an emotional irritant that daily contaminates their mood. According to research in the U.S. and Sweden, the longer the commute, the higher the blood pressure, and commuters facing congested drives have a greater incidence of absenteeism. Men and women alike, of all ages, ethnic, and income groups, experience frustration on crowded freeways and at red lights. While this is an understandable reaction to congestion, few realize that frustration in traffic is a learned habit, and therefore it can be unlearned.

Learned negativity is characteristic of this generation's driving norms. For years we imbibe our parents' attitudes as we ride with them. Watching drivers behaving badly on TV, enjoying it and getting away without consequences, further reinforces the norm of aggressiveness. When teenagers obtain that coveted driver's license and claim their independence, the negativity they've imbibed in childhood takes over and fortifies the culture of disrespect. And we are passing it on to the next generation--unless we decide to do something about it. Social methods have been used to counteract the stressful effects of negative thoughts. For example, commuters who switch to ride sharing arrangements show a significant reduction in blood pressure within a few days. Ride-sharers, both as drivers and passengers, are less bothered by congestion, possibly because socializing shifts their focus away from what other drivers are doing or not doing. This book presents self-change methods that substitute habitual negativity with learned optimism and a positive outlook behind the wheel.

The Expanding Age of Rage

There are indications that the culture of disrespect is opening new venues for expressing anger. As usual, media mavens have a finger on new cultural developments and the word is out: Rage is Spreading! Many headlines proclaim:

•                Parking Lot Rage

•                Sidewalk Rage

•                Surf Rage

•                Air Rage

•                Neighbor Rage

•                Shopping Mall Rage

•                Workplace Rage

•                Cafeteria Rage

•                Customer Rage

•                Keyboard Rage

•                Desk Rage

A recent New Yorker cartoon captioned "Sidewalk Rage" pictures a spacious sidewalk divided by double lines into four lanes, each marked with a sign: Speed Walkers (leftmost lane), Walkers Who Veer, Walkers who Reverse Direction, and Walkers Who Inexplicably Stop (rightmost lane). This unfortunate episode reveals the ugly reality of sidewalk rage:

It seems road rage doesn't end at the curb. World champion cyclist Larry Zimich became the victim of sidewalk rage Tuesday afternoon on the Lions Gate Bridge. On Wednesday, the 32-year-old North Vancouver rider woke up at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. "Right now I can't even get up," said Zimich, who's suffering from broken bones in his shoulder and a displaced hip after a roadside confrontation with bridge workers.20

One of the pedestrians on the bridge yelled an obscenity about cyclists and is reported to have "raised his elbow and clipped Zimich with it as Zimich rode slowly by" causing the cyclist to fall over:

"I ended up on the bridge deck and in the middle of the lane," said the 156-pound rider. "I heard something crack. Then I heard the screeching of the cars. I look up and there's this guy's bumper right above me. He just managed to stop in time. The poor guy thought he had hit me. He was just shaking.

These worrisome news items illustrate the severity of the expanding rage problem:21

Car show rage:

At the New York International Auto Show, two men are rushed to hospital after a knife fight at the BMW display. Witnesses say the altercation began when a man stepped in front of another who was trying to photograph a white convertible.

Express lane rage:

A Milwaukee grocery shopper follows a woman to the parking lot and cuts off part of her nose because the woman had gone through the express checkout with more than 10 items. The man, 41, is charged with second-degree reckless endangerment.

Daniel Goleman writes that anger "is energizing, even exhilarating."24 Venting rage behind the wheel feels like a catharsis--"Isn't it better for me than holding it in?" Does this justify hostility or uncivility? While long held popular belief says that venting anger is healthy, recent medical research concludes that venting instead increases stress and depresses immune system functioning.25 The new message is: anger kills.26 However, culture has inherited the ill effects of the "venting is good" model. Goleman points to the "seductive, persuasive power" of anger, of the illusion that it is uncontrollable, triggered automatically, that we're not really responsible when it just comes out.24 But actually, the "triggering" stimulus is merely the sudden realization of physical endangerment. Someone cuts us off and we hit the brakes. As the foot moves, the brain reacts simultaneously and prepares for the worst. For a few moments we experience overwhelming physical sensations. This is the moment of choice.

It is a free choice and its outcome depends on the symbolic value we attach to the event. If we attach the event to our self-esteem, we may go down the road of rage, feeling insulted, wronged, disrespected, demeaned, and thwarted from our legitimate goal. The emotional, reptilian, old brain takes over and leads us to emotionally challenged behavior like retaliating. But there is another choice that is equally available to us in that emotional moment. If we realize that the driver's prime directive is to stay in control of the vehicle and of the situation, we can see that we give up control by responding in kind. We don't know what the other might do next. But we have the freedom to transform the symbolic value of the "triggering" event, to inhibit the impulse to kill. Following the prime directive gives us the opportunity to remain cool headed and to respond from the new, cortical brain, "Hey, be my guest." or, "Let it go, it's not worth it." or, "Maybe the guy has an emergency or something." or, "That could be my grandmother." The essence of emotional intelligence for drivers is consciously transforming the critical reaction to something less painful. That's a big victory!

George Washington's Rules of Civility

Reporter Michelle Malkin, in an article on road rage, reminds us of George Washington's cardinal Rule of Civility as the cement that binds a nation together. Malkin believes that following these rules can cure road rage and aggressive driving:27

The problem isn't absence of self-esteem - but an utter lack of self-restraint. Two-and-a-half centuries ago, our Founding Father, George Washington, subscribed to a more cost-effective and time-tested program for reining in one's inner dragons. He carried a hand-copied list of self-improvement rules, originally set out by 16th-century Jesuit priests, wherever he wen--from Valley Forge to Yorktown and throughout his presidency. The original manuscript is kept at the Library of Congress.

Like many modern road-ragers, Washington was a hothead who faced mounting stress at work and at home. As Brookhiser notes, "Washington had a lot to be angry about over the course of his career: untrained soldiers, incompetent officers, difficult allies, quarrelsome associates (including Thomas Jefferson)--to say nothing of his own mistakes from losing battles to misjudging people….But if he had gone into uncontrollable rages at every disappointment or disaster, he would have ruined his health, besides ruining his effectiveness as a leader." Rather than let it all hang out, Washington tempered his temper by adhering to some basic rules of civil life.

This is the simplest and nicest solution available, more effective than law enforcement surveillance: Civility, a true American virtue! For instance, Washington's Rule 1, translated for the traffic world: "Every action done to another driver ought to be done with some sign of respect." This alone could solve the epidemic of the century and stop it from reproducing itself in the next. Washington's Rule 22 had a moral implication for character development: "Shew not yourself glad at the misfortune of another though he were your enemy." This is the basis of supportive driving; a driving orientation that emphasizes compassion, tolerance, and wisdom. Further advice from our founding father for aggressive drivers, as recast by Malkin:

Don't show any sign of anger in your interactions with other motorists, but show instead signs of "sweetness and mildness" (Rule 45).

Don't use insulting language against another driver or pedestrian, neither curse nor revile your passengers (Rule 49).

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called your driving conscience (Rule 110).

Malkin also refers to our approach:

Naturally, a new breed of experts in "traffic psychology" has arisen to provide a cure. They converged upon Congress last week peddling 3-step, 5-step, and 10-step programs to "acquire inner power at the wheel" and "engineer your own driving personality make-over." These gridlock gurus warned the House Transportation Committee that the world's car-bound population is facing a mental health crisis.

Most rage-related incidents, the experts explain, arise from trivial causes over parking spaces, obscene gestures, tailgating and turn signals. Thus the need, says renowned traffic psychologist Leon James (a k a "Dr. Driving") at the University of Hawaii…to "slay your driving dragon" and "acquire personal self-management techniques as a driver.

Checklist: Your Sidewalk Rage Tendency

PEDESTRIAN AGGRESSIVENESS SYNDROME

In the expression Pedestrian Aggressiveness Syndrome the word syndrome indicates that pedestrian aggressiveness is expressed through a variety of negative interactions, all of which are intercorrelated with each other. When you examine the list of aggressive pedestrian behaviors you will recognize them from your own experiences.

Two types of pedestrian aggressiveness are involved in PAS:

(1)  Active-Aggressive Sidewalk Rage:
pedestrians who verbally or by appearance express strong disapproval of some other pedestrians and the inappropriate manner they are behaving in a crowded public walkway

(2)   Passive-Aggressive Sidewalk Rage:
pedestrians who act like they are oblivious or unconcerned with the legitimate rights and needs of other pedestrians nearby

Every person can observe these two types of pedestrian aggressiveness behaviors occurring regularly in crowded malls, airports, theaters, school exits, office buildings entrances, etc. 

It is necessary for a society to train its citizens in appropriate crowd behavior. School children need to have programs to acquire good pedestrian behavior in schoolyards, streets, shopping malls, and inside stores. College campuses can have designated volunteers with an armband to encourage appropriate pedestrian behaviors. This can be also be done at airports and all crowded places. Without such societal involvement it is unrealistic to expect people to change an ongoing general habit.

Pedestrian Personality Makeovers are possible and needed for most people, maybe all people. This is something every individual voluntarily decides to do, being motivated by powerful self-change agents such as ethics, morality, spirituality, and patriotism. Sidewalk rage, both active and passive varieties, is unethical, immoral, spiritually detrimental, and unpatriotic. These can be justified by the following considerations:

·      unethical:
because we are occupying someone’s rightful place or space

·      immoral:
because we are aggressively keeping someone from their freedom to go there

·      spiritually detrimental:
because we are reinforcing in ourselves selfish and disrespectful attitudes and behaviors

·      unpatriotic:
because aggressiveness in all forms in places is dijunctive of community life and teamwork interdependence

By (a) monitoring or observing your thoughts while walking, and (b) arguing with yourself to adopt these principles of fairness and human rights, you can gain the energy, power, and motivation to successfully achieve a pedestrian personality makeover. You will thus go from being a habitual sidewalk rager to a peaceful and supportive pedestrian. The benefits are impressive. We feel better about ourselves when walking in a crowd filled with good will and respect for others. We feel that we belong to this community because we integrate our behavior with the public good and the individual citizen.

But What If  I‘m In a Hurry?

That is when we are tempted the most to put on the role of our raging pedestrian personality. What would be supportive pedestrian behavior when we are in a hurry?

First, let’s agree on inhibiting the expression of our aggressive intentions such as saying “Excuse me” with a strong disapproving tone, or tailgating the slow walker, or blocking the walkway by stopping, or walking as a group over the entire sidewalk, etc. etc. (both active-aggressive and passive aggressive rageful interactions).

Second, surround what you do about it in a soft context of good will without condemnation or criticism. Find a kind thought about the passive-aggressive rager, such as, “Perhaps the person is distracted or conflictual and would not do this if more aware, besides the fact that I myself can do this if distracted”, etc. etc. When you put on this positive and community spirited attitude you find ways of passing the block and getting through without giving offense. This requires you to be willing to perform face saving speech acts such as “Excuse me” repeated several times with a painful facial expression. You are thus performing the transaction in which you are reassuring the other person that your intentions are good but that you are in a hurry and apologize for the inconvenience. Etc.

Some people reading the above strategy might feel that it is wrong to reward bad public behavior by being nice to the offenders. Some people feel that it is our community duty to protect others by telling passive-aggressive sidewalk ragers that they are out of line and should not make it hard for others to pass. Some feel that their inconsiderate attitude should be punished. But thinking this way is just more of sidewalk rage that we must put up with from our own doing! The evidence that it is rage is that we don’t want to stop talking about it, and that we continue to fantasize various punishments these people deserve. This kind of mental venting is stressful and robs us from the pleasure and peace of walking anywhere.

 
My research shows that the pedestrian aggressiveness syndrome includes the following typical pedestrian behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. This Scale has not been formally constructed by sampling data. Nevertheless your own observations of yourself while walking in crowded places can indicate to you how aggressive you are as a pedestrian and what type of pedestrian personality makeover you may need. Observe yourself in a crowded place such as a mall, supermarket, hallway, waiting room, theater isle, waiting line, etc., then immediately after sit down or stand aside and ask yourself how many of these bad pedestrian behaviors apply to you on that occasion. Repeat the observation several more times until you begin to get to know yourself as a pedestrian.  

The following items are only some of the things we habitually do as pedestrians and you are no doubt familiar with many more.  All together they define the pedestrian aggressiveness syndrome. They are all intercorrelated. This means that if you do one of them regularly, you will also do many of the others on a regular basis. You may need a pedestrian personality overhaul.

1.     feeling stress and impatience when walking in a crowded area (crosswalk, staircase, mall, store, airport, street, beach, park, etc.)

2.     having denigrating thoughts about other pedestrians

3.     acting in a hostile manner (staring, presenting a mean face, moving faster or closer than expected)

4.     walking much faster or much slower than the rest of the pedestrians around you

5.     not yielding when it's the polite thing to do (insisting on going first)

6.     walking on the left of a crowded passageway where most pedestrians walk on the right

7.     muttering at other pedestrians

8.     bumping into others

9.     not apologizing when expected (after bumping by accident or brushing too close in attempting to pass)

10.   making insulting gestures

11.   hogging or blocking the passageway, acting uncaring or unaware of other passers bye

12.   walking by a slower moving pedestrian and cutting back too soon (feels hostile or rude and is equivalent to "cutting off" in driving)

13.   expressing pedestrian rage against a driver (like insulting or throwing something)

14.   feeling enraged at other pedestrians and enjoying thoughts of violence

15.   feeling competitive with other pedestrians

From: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy16/g16reports-instructions.html   

Explanation continues here: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy16/g16reports-instructions.html - Negative-Spin-Cycle

TEE Cards by Dr. Leon James

December 2000 From Reader's Digest The Magazine in England

A rage for every taste

You can forget road rage. Road rage is for amateurs. When people swerve in front of me at roundabouts or race away at traffic lights, I merely give an aloof but withering glance, which they never see because their eyes are peering towards that distant horizon which they plan to reach at least three seconds before I do. Anyone who is prepared to risk their life, or even their wing mirror, to achieve that goal deserves our pity rather than our rage.

But I do suffer from other kinds of rage. I get a serious attack of pavement rage whenever I encounter a cyclist, helmet thrust forward, charging down the pavement at ramming speed, scattering schoolchil-dren and little old ladies. Cyclists are always telling us how non-polluting and healthful is their chosen mode of transport. So why do they willingly risk maiming the rest of us?

Pavement rage also occurs when I'm walking the children to school along a road where the traffic moves very slowly. Some people, usually young men, like to wind down the window, crank up the music and send heavy metal reverberating at a volume which would make even Liam Gallagher murmur: "I say, old man, steady on!" In my ideal fantasy world, I'd approach the offending car, reach inside my jacket and pull out a magnet so powerful that the music on the tape would be permanently erased.

Even the most humdrum activities can increase the potential for rage. I was waiting to buy a railway ticket in the traditional queue of around 20 people, idly wondering whether they would all be served before my train left, and why 50 per cent of customers ask, "Can you tell me what platform it is?" so the clerk has to look it up, even though the electric destination indicators above the concourse list everything they could possibly need to know. Suddenly a woman with a bossy upper-class voice swept past us all, announcing, "Do you mind? I have a train to catch!"

(...)

There are an awful lot of thoughtless people about. On a train I once boldly asked some young neanderthal to take his muddy boots off the seat in front. He didn't demur, but gave me a long and mystified look. For what purpose, you could almost see him wonder, would the railway company have put a padded bench there except as a footrest?

Smokers can be another source of rage. Before I quit smoking, I promised myself I'd never become an anti-smoking bore. If anyone wants to light up in our house, we don't complain—we bring them matches, ashtrays, roller machines...But that doesn't mean I'm happy sharing my anniversary dinner in a fancy restaurant with people who think it's fine to puff away and let the smoke drift over the food which the chef has spent hours cooking (and I'll have to spend hours working to pay for).

(...)

Yes, the reasons for rage are everywhere. You just have to know where to look.

original here

Clement Cambra of Kula, Maui, campaigned to get this speed hump installed near his home on Ka Drive. He said such humps are effective in slowing down vehicles.

(...)

The residents of this Upcountry Maui community are not alone in their frustration. The speed hump program, established five years ago to combat speeders in residential neighborhoods, has been more popular than county officials ever imagined, a victim of its own success.

Swamped by nearly 700 requests for speed humps since the program started, officials now face a two-year backlog of approved installations.

"We never thought it would be this big," said David Goode, the county’s public works chief.

Described as "sleeping policemen" for their ability to slow vehicles on neighborhood streets, speed humps are blacktop slabs that gently rise 3 to 4 inches above the road. They are designed to jolt vehicles traveling faster than 20 mph. The humps are relatively easy to install, and at about $3,000 each are less expensive than other traffic-calming devices such as cul-de-sacs, barriers and traffic circles.

Humps, not bumps

Speed humps are not the same as speed bumps, which are the abrupt mounds of asphalt that bring vehicles nearly to a stop in shopping mall and apartment complex parking lots. Confusion about the two is easy to understand: Each speed hump on Maui is accompanied by a warning sign and asphalt markings that say "Speed Bump."

Originally a European concept, the speed hump has spread to communities across America, and more recently to all four counties in Hawai‘i.

But no county has embraced the speed hump quite like Maui, where $2.2 million in county money has been spent to outfit 160 streets.

(...)

Data from the Mean Streets 1998: Kids at Risk Report suggests that "per-mile basis, walking is more dangerous than driving, flying, or riding a bus or train". Furthermore, National SAFE Kids Campagin points out that children are at the greatest risk, due to their impulsive nature and inability to correctly gauge speed, spactial relations, distance and velocity. In addition, children between the ages of 5-9 seem to be at the greatest risk, comprising nearly one-third of children, pedestrian deaths. Perhaps most shocking of all, due to their small size, toddler's are most likely to be injured in their own driveway by their own parents backing up!

This week in Hawaii, the statistics became all too real when a 10 year-old boy was killed when was struck by a car as he crossed a busy street to get to school. To add to the tragedy, the 18 year-old boy who was driving the car, lost his older brother, when he was hit by a car on that same stretch of road. Is this a case of a dangerous stretch of road? Was the driver speeding excessively? Was the driver of the car simply inexperienced, too young, impulsive? Should the child not have crossed the street in the first place? All of these issues will no doubt be addressed in the coming weeks. However, in the meantime, what can one do keep themselves and their loved ones safe?

PREVENTION TIPS FROM THE NATIONAL SAFE KIDS CAMPAIGN

Never allow children under 10 to cross streets alone. Parental or adult supervision is essential until the traffic skills and judgment thresholds are reached by each child.

Always model and teach proper pedestrian behavior. Make eye contact with drivers prior to crossing in front of them. Don't assume that because you can see the driver, the driver can see you.

Cross streets at a corner, using traffic signals and crosswalks whenever possible. Instruct children to look left-right-left again when crossing a street and to continue looking as they cross. Children should never run into the street.

Require children to wear retroreflective materials and carry a flashlight at dawn and dusk.

Teach children to walk facing traffic and as far to the left as possible when sidewalks are not available.

Prohibit play in the driveway, in adjacent unfenced yards, in the street or in parking lots.

Teach children to cross the street at least 10 feet in front of a school bus and to wait for adults on the same side of the street as the school bus loading/unloading zone.

Advocate for the implementation of traffic calming measures, separate walkways, limited curbside parking, reduced traffic in residential neighborhoods and lower speed limits. 4/98

This information was compiled by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign (NSKC), 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue,
Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20004-1707
Permission is granted to distribute this fact sheet in unaltered format with credit given to NSKC.

TIPS FOR DRIVERS
Slow down!
Be aware of your surroundings (ie: school zones, crosswalks, parks, etc.)
Watch for children/pets who may dart into the street unexpectedly

I can not believe the responses of people trying to get even or ahead of people in cars. I run about 50 miles a week on the roads and occasionally encounter a motorist that is in his own world. To me the only sensible response is to get out of their way. I could use gestures and yell and scream but eventually I will lose. Unfortunately I will only lose once. I also try to wave and mouth thank you to those motorists that are considerate.

Look at the full debate here

"By doing the exercises, I was able to analyze my own behaviors, thoughts and feelings as a pedestrian. I think my experience as a pedestrian has been quite good and the exercises have helped me to recognize some of my behaviors, thoughts and feelings as a pedestrian. There were times when I get tensed or stressed such as when crossing the interjunctions. I also realize that I have quite a high emotional intelligence towards drivers because I don't commit most of the emotionally un-intelligent behaviors that others commit. I hope to be able to better manage my emotions and utilize some of Dr. James's techniques in helping me to become a better pedestrian or driver in the future."

See the report here

A report by Right of Way, a grassroots organization based in New York City, found that nearly 90 percent of pedestrian deaths in the Big Apple are caused by aggressive and careless drivers.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, the organization obtained the crash reports of 1,000 pedestrian fatalities in the city from 1994 to 1997. Among their findings:

Driver's are at fault in almost 90% of pedestrian fatalities. Automobiles kill more than twice as many elderly New Yorkers as murderers do. Aggressive turning through crosswalks is the single-biggest known cause of pedestrian deaths. Speeding and driving through red lights and stop signs are the next most frequent causes. Cars kill 250 pedestrians in New York City each year, including a dozen on sidewalks. Buses kill three times as many pedestrians as heavy trucks, per mile driven. "The crux of pedestrian safety is making drivers respect pedestrian rights," said Charles Komanoff, the report's author. "Most pedestrian fatalities are caused by drivers' failure to observe traffic laws, particularly the laws protecting pedestrians."

The report was released in March amid claims by city agencies that pedestrian deaths fell sharply during a crackdown on drunk driving. However, crash reports analyzed for the study showed drunk driving to be a factor in only 4% of pedestrian fatalities during the four-year period studied, suggesting that drunk driving never was a major factor in pedestrian deaths.

The organization condemned city officials for failing to focus on what they described as the far bigger problem of aggressive, violent, or otherwise irresponsible driving.

For more information, write to: Right of Way, 305 Broadway, Room 402, New York, NY 10007

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6,000 bicyclists and pedestrians are killed in traffic every year            

How to Avoid Pedestrian Rage 

 Dr. Leon James

Pedestrian rage is occasioned in most pedestrians when the others sharing the walkway ignore the rights of other pedestrians. If you observe pedestrian behavior in crowded places you can notice that about 20 percent of the users break various pedestrian norms. For example, they walk "upstream" to the flow of pedestrian traffic, which almost always goes by the norm "Walk on the right. Pass on the left, then hold to the right again."

People are used to this pattern, but there are conditions that make them forget, as for instance when they walk in a group, when they don't know where they are going, when they are foreign and use the wrong norms, etc.

The solution to pedestrian rage is to teach people how to a be a supportive pedestrian, which is a peaceful, non-competitive, and cooperative way of managing one's legs and body. Bumping into another pedestrian is an act of violence, sometimes premeditated. Some people perversely enjoy bothering others -- walking in opposition, talking out loud on the cell phone in crowded places, not adjusting their behavior to the convenience of others, etc. In order for this change in pedestrian personality to happen realistically we need to start teaching pedestrian norms to children in kindergarten, and every year thereafter.

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January, 2000
New Mexico City Must Defend Against Claim that It Failed to Keep Sidewalks in Safe Condition for Use by Plaintiff in a Wheelchair

October 1, 1998
South Carolina DOT Owes Damages to Minor Pedestrian When Signal Interval Too Short for Safe Crossing

July 1, 1998
Research Shows Need for Countermeasures to Reduce Pedestrian Fatalities on Interstate Highways

February 2, 1998
Three-Second Head Start Gives Pedestrians Advantage at Intersections (IIHS)

November, 1997
Reactions of Visually and Physically Impaired Pedestrians to Detectable Warning Surfaces on Sidewalk Curb Ramps

November 1, 1997
City in New York Found Not Liable for Motorist's Fall in Municipal Parking Lot

November 1, 1997
State of Washington's Recreational Use Immunity Statute Upheld in Pedestrian's Death

October 1, 1997
Injured Montana Pedestrian Did Not Show Slippery Metal Cover on Sidewalk Was a Breach of Duty

October 1, 1997
Louisiana DOT Assigned Some Fault for Injuries to Worker Forced to Cross Highway from Parking Lot to Work

October, 1997
Study Compares Older and Younger Pedestrian Walking Speeds

Oct., 1997
Designing Traffic Signals to Accommodate Pedestrian Travel

August 10, 1997
Injury to Child Leaving Ice-Cream Truck Did Not Result from Dangerous Condition or Nuisance Created by California City

July, 1997
Planning and Designing Rail-Trails on Abandoned Rail Lines

May 12, 1997
New York Court Will Reconsider Allocation of Fault to Pedestrian Hit in Unmarked Crosswalk

May 12, 1997
Survey Measures Knowledge of Pedestrian Laws and Traffic Control Devices

May 12, 1997
Court to Decide if New Mexico Highway Department Should Have Foreseen Thirteen-Year-Old's Behavior in Crossing Urban Freeway

May 12, 1997
Does Enforcement of Pedestrian Right-of-Way Laws Increase Driver Compliance?

May 5, 1997
Pedestrian Fatalities on Interstate Highways: Characteristics and Countermeasures

April, 1997
Making Intersections Safer for Pedestrians

April, 1997
Researchers Study the Walking Speeds of Older Pedestrians

source here

NHTSA Celebrates National Walk Our Children to School Day in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Pedestrian crashes are a serious safety problem for children that result in tens of thousands of injuries and hundreds of deaths each year. This is why NHTSA teamed up with the North Broward Hospital District=s Emergency Medical Services for Children Department (EMSC), Broward Navy Days, Inc., and Harbordale Elementary School to celebrate the Partnership for a Walkable America=s third annual National Walk Our Children to School Day on Wednesday, October 6, 1999. National Walk Our Children to School Day is an event that gives children, parents, grandparents and community leaders from all over the country a chance to walk to school together to promote safer streets, physical fitness, and good pedestrian safety habits. NHTSA is a founding, active member of the Partnership for a Walkable America, which estimates that almost one half million people from across the United States and in Canada participated in this year=s event.

Approximately 105 red T-shirted students and their parents and teachers from Harbordale Elementary School arrived at Broward General Medical Center at 7:00 a.m. to attend a breakfast and safety ceremony. NHTSA=s Chief Counsel Frank Seales gave a special message to the parents in the audience. AChildren are especially vulnerable to traffic-related pedestrian crashes,@ he said. AParents must remember this and always set a good example so that the children can learn correct, safe pedestrian skills and grow up to be healthy adults.@

Following breakfast, the students, dignitaries, and sailors were visited by the crash test dummies, Vince and Larry, who reviewed pedestrian safety rules before everyone headed out for the walk to school. The students carried miniature stop signs and donned retroreflective Aslap bracelets,@ as they walked from the hospital to Harbordale Elementary with the Broward Navy Days sailors and dignitaries as escorts. Traffic in all directions was halted by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department as a parade of sailors and students crossed Federal Highway on their educational journey to school. Almost a mile of smiles is testament to the memories these children will carry into their adulthood as a result of that special morning walk to school.

For more information about planning a National Walk Our Children to School Day event, contact Harold Thompson c/o the National Safety Council at 800/621-7615 ext. 2383. National Walk Our Children to School Day planning information is also available on the National Safety Council=s webpage at www.nsc.org/walkable.htm.

original NHTSA newsletter here

Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 20:23:37 -1000
From: DickBoyd@aol.com
To: pde@drivers.com
Cc: leon@hawaii.edu, jposton@rtcwashoe.com
Subject: AGGRESSIVE DRIVERS: Are you one?

You only give me two choices and you hold me to an immediate decision. Drs. James and Nahl in their book "Road Rage and Aggressive Driving" also divide the driving world into two groups, Citizen Activists and Government Paternalists.

In my opinion, there is a third choice. The aggressive party in the scenario of trying to merge in rush hour is the "government." The "government" that built and operates the road. The "government" indeed has stepped up its fight against aggressive driving. This is the same "government" that set up the design that contributes to the aggressive action. I did not say "causes" the aggressive action. I said "contributes to." If the decision were not forced on drivers at that place, at that time, would either driver be "aggressive"?

Two ideologies are reported in the James/Nahl book. The "right" or "assertive" drivers complain about too much law enforcement. The "left" or "law and order" drivers want more government intervention and regulation. What isn't reported is the "centrist" view. Why is the road built and operated to force these kinds of decisions on drivers? Especially in unexpected places and at unexpected times.

Tom Loftus, in the Wall Street Journal quotes Ron Kirby on two types of drivers. Those who have to be at a place certain at a time certain and (simplified) those who have cell phones. Should a road (transit system) be built and operated so that the travel time is consistently predictable? Or should a road (transit system) be built and operated on a first come first (dis)served basis?

The Shirley Highway (I-95/I-395) in Virginia to the District of Columbia is an example. Frank Turner had envisioned the reversible lanes as a way to satisfy the unbalanced demand. Unbalanced in time in that more people are going into DC in the morning than going out. This reverses in the evening with more going out than coming in. On a twenty-four hour basis, five lanes are needed inbound and five lanes are needed outbound. Instead of building ten lanes, there are eight lanes. Two lanes are reversible. Originally, there were two dedicated lanes inbound, two dedicated outbound and two reversible, with future expansion built in.

The road is unbalanced in space. The reversible lanes were designed to serve those with greater travel distances. Two ideological camps fought it out in forming the policy on the hours of operation and the terms of use for the reversible lanes. One camp was open play, the other was buses only. The centrist view prevailed with the compromise of allowing four person car pools during certain hours. The "Coleman" decision (by extension from I-66) required agreement between the Commonwealth of Virginia, The District of Columbia and the Federal Highway Administration. Congressman Stan Paris "knew" better, so he put a rider on the clandestine Juliette Lowe bill to allow three person car pools. That political action pretty well stopped all "public" participation in the formation of policy on operation of the reversible lanes.

The political process has more hindered than helped in the operation of the road. Occasionally, the Governor of Virginia has a lunch at which he asks offhandedly about the operation of Shirley Highway. This leads to a $2 million study to either justify the status quo or to criminalize "slug" lines because they take passengers away from "public" mass transit. Who is the aggressor in this scenario?

One fatality on the reversible lanes of Shirley in commuting time was a Virginia State Police Officer struck by a bus. Did that death have to occur? Why wasn't HOV enforced at the entrance and exit ramps? The police did not have to pursue. All the police had to do was observe the violators and pull them over in a protected area. Was enforcement done to serve as an example to the motorists in the regular lanes? If so there were several highly visible spots that could have served as deterrent points.

Better yet would have been an explanation of what the road was about. That is, Shirley Highway reversible lanes were designed to serve the population that lived in southern Fairfax County, Prince William County and places south. Shirley Highway reversible lanes were designed with a time of day preference. By the time Shirley Highway was built there were more houses and more people than in the road plan.

Can't get any more cars on the road? How about more people in each car? Un-American, it will cause the sky to fall and I won't be able to walk across the street to visit my sainted mother. HOV rules were used to get people to "share the ride." Instead, the press took the position that the HOV requirements were an imposition on the public "right" to use any road at any time under any circumstances. The same press that does not appreciate the consequences of operating a road at "capacity." [Why are there traffic signals at the entrances to tunnels into New York City?] Who is the aggressor in this scenario?

The Beltway around DC has bottlenecks. What part did LBJ play in preserving a golf course? Why is there a "roller coaster" in the Beltway? Who was the aggressor in this scenario? Why are there so many left entrances on the Beltway? Why doesn't I-95 continue into the District as originally planned? Why are there so few crossings of the Potomac River? Why doesn't Maryland encourage more ad-hoc car pools? Who is the aggressor here?

So much for the examples of the "government" being the aggressor.

The point I see drivers.com and Drs. James and Nahl making is that you should take a deep breath, relax, don't get angry, don't vent, don't provoke the other driver and practice the golden rule. Good, where is that being taught, other than in churches and your web site? What is the message in the TV story that glorifies the high speed chase and nobody gets killed in the crash? Who is the aggressor here?

I suggest that rather than venting your anger on the other driver, that you funnel some energy into correcting the road design and the road operation. How did the various states react to the State Farm Insurance Company offer of financial backing to correcting "dangerous intersections?" Did some of the states blow it off with "Our roads aren't dangerous"? Who is the aggressor here?

Thanks for the newsletter. Thanks for letting me "vent" on-line rather than on-road.

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

Date: Sun, 19 Nov 2000 19:55:56 -1000
From: DickBoyd@aol.com
To: jposton@rtcwashoe.com
Subject: Pedestrian Visibility

In a message dated 11/19/00 12:38:03 AM Pacific Standard Time, RenoTraffic@egroups.com writes:

<< 25% of drivers striking a pedestrian at night claim that they never saw the pedestrian before impact. >>

Jim Poston, Do you know of any source or information on the "rest of the story"?

This statistic could imply that the pedestrian is in error at least 25% of the cases by not being visible enough. Or was the driver distracted or disabled? One of the Shirley Highway fatalities was a pedestrian that was struck several times by motorists that did not see him. Was he a suicide by being on a road on which people did not expect pedestrians? Another fatality in the Washington, DC area was a teenager that got angry with the family and began walking on an unlit road. She was killed by an intoxicated hit and run attorney. Another fatality was a high school student at Halloween. He was walking on a poorly lit road in a dark costume. He was struck by an intoxicated Navy nurse.

Of the 75% that saw the pedestrian before impact, how many reacted quickly enough to prevent a fatality? What speeds were involved? What could have been done to improve pedestrian visibility? Are there some places where there are more pedestrian involved crashes than others?

A simple thing to enhance visibility at night is to carry something white. A newspaper will do, even the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Reno Traffic may not be the venue for this series of questions. Do you know any sites that would entertain such questions?

About 100,000 pedestrians are injured in motor vehicle crashes each year in this country and, since 1990, 5,500 to 6,500 pedestrians per year have died.

Pedestrians need to be aware of the danger they are in when walking in areas near traffic. The human body is fragile compared to any sized motor vehicle.

Source: Federal Highway Safety Administration

Pedestrian death rates have declined 42 percent since 1975 (from 3.5 to 2.0 per 100,000 people in 1996). Reasons for these steep declines aren’t fully known, but they probably in part reflect changes in the amount and type of pedestrian exposure.

Its possible that the amount of pedestrians has decreased because they are now on the roads driving motor vehicles. So the decline in pedestrian death rates is good, but now there are more motor vehicle crashes. It would be nice if the decrease was due to safer walkways and cross walks for pedestrians.

Source: Federal Highway Safety Administration

Each year about 7,000 pedestrians die and 100,000 are injured in traffic accidents. Young children and the elderly are more likely to be killed or injured in a pedestrian crash.

This statistic is very alarming. If driver's were more patient and allow pedestrians to cross at their own pace maybe these numbers will be reduced. It is also important for pedestrians to be careful when they cross the road and watch out for reckless drivers.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration

Date: Sun, 5 Jul 1998 07:55:00 -1000
From: Jim Whitlow <GeM@letter.com>
To: Leon James <dyc@drdriving.org>
Subject: Yet another unsolicited comment about your Dr.Driving material...

DrDriving, you wrote: Anger is a natural emotion found in all societies, and yet, when people wait in a bank line or at the entrance of a theater, or at airports, etc., they don't suddenly start fights. Rather, they seem orderly, meek, and neutral if not friendly. But it seems to be different in traffic. What is it about getting behind the wheel that brings out hostility and rage?

I pondered that contrast many years back. Perhaps you and I are a bit more perceptive in such areas.

An earlier perception of mine helps me to analyze why people behave differently behind the wheel than they do as a pedestrian. Said perception involved the differing ways people act when wearing different clothing. For instance, a young boy who would not jump from the roof of a house may well do so when he pins a towel around his neck (Batman/Superman cape emulation). Let's face it, humans act differently under differing settings, different attire, different titles/positions, different "audiences," etcetera.

Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 22:42:51 -1000
From: Jason Meggs jmeggs@lmi.net
To: Leon James leon@hawaii.edu
Subject: Berkeley initiative text

DrDriving,

While the PETITION below has some controversial or not-quite-refined ideas, it's the result of lots of work and investigation. One person has made the astute observation that this all needs to be challenged at the Federal level.

NOTICE OF INTENT TO CIRCULATE PETITION

Notice is hereby given by the persons whose names appear hereon of their intention to circulate the petition within the City of Berkeley for the purpose of enacting an ordinance to accommodate alternative transportation in the City of Berkeley. A statement of the reasons of the proposed action as contemplated in the petition is as follows: Pedestrian, Wheelchair-rider and Bicyclist Nonmotorized Traveler Equality Act of 1998 This proposed ordinance would work to correct historic inequities in our transportation system in a way that would greatly benefit all of Berkeley.

The ordinance would result in a major study of transportation costs and benefits and of the extent to which equal rights to travel have been denied, and would propose a program to correct those inequities. The ordinance would work to educate our children to be better informed of their transportation future and the choices that we as a society can make. The ordinance would give new freedom to neighborhoods to reclaim land on each block for open space. It would help to provide protection from rain at bus stops, and also protect impounded bicycles from rust. The ordinance would notify the public through signage of the risks of motor vehicle travel.

Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 15:34:40 -1000
From: NY
Subject: pedestrians

Just a personal experience...When I took my driver's test, the instructor or whatever was getting irritated at me for slowing down or stopping when I saw a pedestrian ready to cross the road. He told me that it was not necessary to let every pedestrian cross at the crosswalks that I encountered. My thought was that what if those pedestrians were dumb enough to cross with cars coming, it would be my fault if I hit them. Pedestrians usually thank drivers who stop and that makes people feel appreciated...as far as I know.

Date: Wed, 4 Mar 1998 11:59:24 -1000
From: flemingda@ci.anchorage.ak.us
To: dyc@drdriving.org
Subject: great page

hi -- i'm a librarian in anchorage ak and just showed
your page to a group of high school kids who absolutely
loved it! thanks very much, this is a great page, and
nicely laid out too.
dan fleming

Date: Wed, 4 Mar 1998 14:08:32 -1000
From: DrDriving <drdriving@drdriving.org>
To: Andy Sawyer <asawyer@compusmart.ab.ca>

Subject: Re: Store Shopping Rage

Andy, Thanks for the interesting observation on store rage. I'm definitely interested in this. Some of my students have done observations on pedestrians but a lot more needs to be done. I have noted "children's rage" and "husband rage" and "airplane passenger rage" etc. I think anger and rage are the most common human emotions when it comes to what I call "territoriality" issues. Let me know if you come across these things.

Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 16:15:55 -1000
To: JR <jr@hawaii.edu>

Subject: Re: Problems students face while commuting

> I just had one question concerning driver mentality. Besides the road,
> trying to find a parking also creates a problems for students once they
> arrive at campus. This might affect them with their first several
> classes. Do you have any solutions/suggestions you can offer to
> these students so that when they arrive at their classes, they are not
> angered by the traffic and the difficulty of finding parking?
++++++++++
 

As "DrDriving" on the Internet, I advise people who write to me that driving a vehicle requires training yourself in three areas. First, your emotions and attitudes. Second, your thoughts and judgment. Third, your handling and alertness. Students would greatly reduce their driving stress by training themselves in each of these three areas.

This training includes the skill of getting yourself parked without getting upset at yourself, at other students, at campus officials, at your girlfriend, at the world! This requires emotional intelligence or affective self-instruction. Students need to apply the knowledge they have acquired in college to their daily problems and needs. In this case, it's the need for greater emotional intelligence.

Here are 10 examples of erroneous thinking which students might wish to consider, as they plan a "driving personality makeover." These tend to be some of the major errors in thinking before we train ourselves to think more rationally as a vehicle operator or pedestrian:

• That driver is stupid because he did not see me.
  
• That driver will not hit me if I pass on the right.
  
• I can squeeze between these two cars--they won't dear hit me
  
• I have the right to be mad at this inconsiderate driver
  
• All drivers are against me
  
• Campus officials don't care about my parking plight because they're heartless and only looking out after themselves
  
• How am I supposed to listen to this lecture when I'm so upset about
  
• that driver who almost knocked me down
  
• It's OK for me not to stop at this stop sign because there is no one coming and because it's mostly for cars
  
• Since I'm late for class it's OK for me to make exceptions and take more risks than I would normally take
  
• I don't have to signal every time I'm supposed to

>> most pedestrians generally seem unsure when they have left the
>> no vehicle area and wander hither and thither with little respect
>> for potentially fast (30mph) moving vehicles.

While I will concede some of this argument, there is also the point that pedestrians really do have to learn that roads are for cars, and pavements are where they themselves belong. To continually lower speed limits because people walk into the road seems to be attacking the wrong end of the problem. The problem is, that many peds are busy thinking about what to buy for supper rather than observing the roads, especially in shopping districts.

www.disastercenter.com/traffic/Pedest.html

Research on Pedestrians Killed or Injured by Age and Sex

Ampofo-Boateng, K., & Thomson, J.A. (1989). Child pedestrian accidents: A case for preventive medicine. Health Education Research, 5, 2, 265-274.

Cross, R.T., & Pitkethly, A. (1991). Concept modification approach to pedestrian safety: A strategy for modifying young children's existing conceptual framework of speed. Research in Science & Technological Education, 9, 1, 93-106.

Dewar, R. (1991). Driver and pedestrian characteristics. In J.L. Pline (Ed.), Traffic Engineering Handbook (pp. 1-28). Engelwood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Malenfant, L., & Van Houten, R. (1989). Increasing the percentage of drivers yielding to pedestrians in three Canadian cities with a multifaceted safety program. Health Education Research, 5, 2, 275-279.

Malenfant, L., Van Houten, R., Hall, R.V., & Cahoon, G. (1985). The use of public posting, prompting, and police enforcement procedures to increase driver yielding and pedestrian signalling at marked crosswalks. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 13, 4, 295-302.

Michon, J.A. (1981). Traffic education for young pedestrians: An introduction. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 13, 3, 163-167.

Preusser, D.F., & Blomberg, R.D. (1984). Reducing child pedestrian accidents through public education. Journal of Safety Research, 15, 2, 47-56.

Preusser, D.F., & Lund, A.K. (1988). And keep on looking: A film to reduce pedestrian crashes among 9 to 12 year olds. Journal of Safety Research, 19, 4, 177-185.

Price, R.H., Cowen, E.L., Lorion, R.P., & Ramos-McKay, J. (1989). The search for effective prevention programs: What we learned along the way. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 59, 1, 49-58.

Summala, H. (1980). Driving speed regulation and other means to reduce risks when meeting a pedestrian on a dark road. International Review of Applied Psycholoqy. 29, 498.

van der Molen, H.H. (1981). Child pedestrian's exposure, accidents and behaviour. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 13, 3, 193-224.

Van Houten, R., Malenfant, L., & Rolider, A. (1985b). Increasing driver yielding and pedestrian signalling with prompting, feedback and enforcement. Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis, 18, 2, 103-110.

Van Houten, R., Rolider, A., Nau, P.A., Friedman, R., Becker, M., Chalodovsky, I., & Scherer, M. (1985a). Large-scale reductions in speeding and accidents in Canada and Israel: A behavioural ecological perspective. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 18, 1, 87-93.

Zegeer, Charles V.and Zegeer, Sharon F. Pedestrians and traffic-control measures, Washington, D.C. National Cooperative Highway Research Program, 1988, pp. 1-3.

"Close following, cutting into one's lane, a pedestrian crossing in front of your car at close range, etc. will all interfere with a driver's momentary behavior goals. Interruption of behavior is the most common factor to raise arousal in a subject and to elicit emotional response." (Michon, 1980, P.407)

"It can be hypothesized that when a driver follows another car at such a small distance he must give his attention to the car in front to such a degree that he is not able to detect the pedestrian on the road side. He may not have time enough to respond to an unexpected pedestrian." (Summala, 1980, p.498) In addition to this, the result of a study says that "when meeting a pedestrian on the road side drivers do not decrease their speed. Instead, they take a driving path clearly closer to the center line. Hence, it can be seen that drivers seem to be unwilling to reduce speed for greater safety, at least when passing a pedestrian." (Summala, 1980,p.498) Sound familiar?

To me it does. When I'm on the road pedestrians are not safe. When I see a pedestrian I speed up especially if I have to turn and they're standing on the corner, I have the urge to turn before they cross the street because some of them walk so slow the time they're out of my way, the light has changed. I know I should slow down because I'm a pedestrian myself and it's not easy to cross the street with impatient drivers. Sometimes I'm so much in a rush to beat the pedestrians that I almost banged a few. I get especially angry at pedestrians that cross when they're not supposed to. The light is green so I'm going as fast as I can before it turns yellow and here is this idiot pedestrian trying to cross the street and he's not even in the crosswalk. In fact, he's far from it. If I have to wait for a pedestrian to cross the road I find myself slowly inching forward, kind of pushing them along.

Even when I'm approaching a stop sign I speed up if there's a car behind me because I don't want them to think I'm a slow driver. When I reach the stop sign I stop for only a second because I feel like the car behind me is pushing me to go. If no one is behind me, the chances are that I'll slow down and make a complete stop.

I hate to admit it but it scares me the way I drive. not to mention my passengers.

Some American drivers wonder whether we as a nation are more aggressive then other cultural groups. In fact, applied psychologists in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany have noted that a high level of aggression permeates the traffic environment in their countries, estimating that between 30% and 80% of all road accidents are due to driver aggressivity. In general, twice as many male drivers show aggressive behavior in comparison to female drivers. Researchers define aggression in traffic as the intention of the aggressor to injure the other driver who is the victim. This includes physical and mental harm.

In a Dutch study, the behavior of motorists was observed, without their knowledge, at a pedestrian crosswalk located on a moderately busy street. One member of the observation team would begin crossing the street just as a car was approaching the intersection. The driver's behavior was judged by another team member as either aggressive or not aggressive. Several criteria were used:

driver fails to stop; gesticulates; yells out; sounds the horn; shakes a fist; points at the forehead; shouts invectives; speeds up and acts like running down the pedestrians.

Approximately 1,000 cars were observed and 1 in 4 motorists (25%) were judged as aggressive in one way or another.

"Law Enforcement, Pedestrian Safety, and Driver Compliance with Crosswalk Laws" by John Britt, et al. in Transportation Research Record 1485 (Transportation Research Board, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20418)(1995). [TE7. H5 # 1485]

A four-year experiment with different approaches for enforcing the law requiring vehicles to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks had little impact on driver behavior.

Injuries from pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions were responsible for 5,500 deaths and thousands more injuries in the United States in 1993. Elementary school children, older adults over age 65, and those impaired by alcohol are especially vulnerable. The role of law enforcement is one of the least studied of all potential mechanisms for reducing such injuries, yet law enforcement is routinely recommended as one of the essential strategies for prevention. Limited traffic enforcement resources, competing departmental priorities, and a lack of awareness of the problem's significance are three common barriers to the enforcement of pedestrian laws. The presence of a strong pedestrian safety program within the Seattle Police Department and its willingness to collaborate with the Harborview Injury prevention and Research Center provided a unique opportunity to investigate the potential safety benefit of one type of enforcement.

In 1990 a coalition of safety groups, health professionals, citizen activists, and law enforcement representatives worked together to pass a stronger state crosswalk law. The law focused the attention of the public on pedestrian safety by changing the obligation of the driver from yield to stop when pedestrians were attempting to cross at legal crosswalk locations. The new law set the stage for a change in Seattle Police Department policy concerning pedestrian law enforcement as well as the initiation of a public information campaign.

Four separate traffic enforcement campaigns were conducted by the Seattle Police Department over the course of the 4 years. Although there were differences between each campaign, they all shared the following design features:

A specific area of the city was identified to receive emphasized enforcement. The enforcement consisted of increased officer presence in the designated area, with the purpose of citing drivers who violated the crosswalk law. A time line for the campaign was identified. The shortest campaign lasted 3 weeks; the longest lasted longer than 1 year. Sentinel intersections were identified within the area. These intersections were used to measure the compliance of drivers with stopping for crossing pedestrians. Data on historic traffic volumes and posted speed limits were also available for each location. Baseline measures of driver compliance were conducted before the initiation of the law enforcement efforts. Follow-up measures of driver compliance were obtained after the law enforcement effort stopped.

The authors have been unable to demonstrate that law enforcement efforts directed at motorist violators of crosswalk laws significantly or consistently increase drivers' willingness to stop for pedestrians. It appears that even with a high degree of commitment on the part of law enforcement, the expectations from such programs should remain modest. If intense enforcement efforts aimed at drivers do not elicit a positive effect at marked crosswalks, it is difficult to imagine that they will be effective in locations were the pedestrian right-of-way is more ambiguous. Although there are few standards by which to judge the relative enforcement intensities of these campaigns, the authors are unaware of any law enforcement agency that has conducted and evaluated a more focused effort.

It appears that other uncontrolled factors were responsible for the wide fluctuations in compliance. Day-to-day speed and volume fluctuations and their behavioral effects on drivers may have a greater effect on compliance than even the most aggressive enforcement campaign. Further evaluations should be encouraged. Such evaluations may be able to account for some of this variability and determine whether and to what extent there is a positive effect.

original here

Group Studied 1,000 NYC Fatalities Caused by Cars
Driver aggressiveness and carelessness cause up to 9 of every 10 pedestrian deaths in New York City, according to a new report by Right of Way, the pedestrian rights group. The 64-page report, KILLED BY AUTOMOBILE, studied one thousand pedestrian fatalities in the city in the past four years, and found that:

Drivers are at fault in almost 90% of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths.

Automobiles kill more than twice as many elderly New Yorkers than murderers do.

Aggressive turning through crosswalks is the single biggest known cause of pedestrian deaths. Drunken driving (New York Mayor Giuliani’s latest target) ranks 12th.

In over 90% of pedestrian fatalities, the driver is male.

Dangerous driving does not discriminate: members of all the broad ethnic categories in NYC are equally likely to be killed by cars. ]

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Are pedestrian deaths and injuries a big problem?

Is the pedestrian/motor vehicle crash problem improving? Which pedestrians are most likely to be involved in collisions? To what extent does alcohol contribute to pedestrian deaths? Where and when are pedestrians most likely to be struck? What are the most common types of pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions? Who is at fault in most pedestrian/motor vehicle collisions? How do most pedestrian injuries occur? Does vehicle design influence pedestrian injuries? How can the frequency of pedestrian collisions be reduced? Can education help reduce pedestrian deaths and injuries?

To give and overview of the observations that I made for the field project, I did three things, in general. The first was a systematic field observation, in which I listed data to determine aggressive pedestrian behavior at an interaction, for both males and females. While I did this, a the same intersection, I also observed how many vehicles drove hastily, as indicated by their crossing the stopline after the given signal light had turned yellow. Finally, I issued a questionnaire (survey) to ten UH Manoa students to determine driving behavior in relation to sex and grade level.

Specific observational techniques for pinpointing aggressive pedestrian behavior were as follows (Note: Obviously, I am assuming that aggressive pedestrians are also aggressive drivers. I did no try to validate this claim for my research project, but I felt that if people acted impulsive and impatient while walking on the streets, these actions resulting from internal emotions would carry over into the automobile, probably more so because individuals feel more powerful and in control when in the privacy of an enclosed car, as they are not exposed to societal disapproval, an idea I derived from the book, "The Motor-Vehicle Driver: His Nature and Improvement," which I also used in my research project."): The exact setting for observing the aggressive pedestrian behavior was on the western side of the university, at the intersection crossing University Avenue with Metcalf Street. I scrutinized only two of the four crosswalks at the intersection, the two which strip across University Ave. joining the UH campus with the new Burger King outlet and joining the campus to the University High campus. I selected this particular intersection over a few others that I had in mind because many people filtered into these crosswalks in order to catch buses, eat lunch at Burger King, to go home, and for a variety of other reasons, I would imagine. I figured that the more people I witnessed behaving aggressively, the more reliable my results would be.

I positioned myself on a wall in front of Burger King restaurant adjacent to one crosswalk (on my left hand side) while the other crosswalk was seen at a convenient angle, hence allowing me to analyze pedestrians in both crosswalks simultaneously without being confused. I hope that I did not look conspicuous while making this observation. I tried my best to look casual and pretend that I was waiting for a bus – for fear that I might create an experimenter effect on pedestrians – but I think my holding a pen and notebook and gazing left and right sort of gave me away. Actually, most people tended to mind their own business or were busy conversing with others, and so I usually was not noticed.

This is how I deduced if pedestrians were acting aggressively: (...)

Hauber (1980), in his study of driver reactions to pedestrians, found no significant differences between male and female drivers. Evans and Wasielewski (1983) more recently did find sex differences in driver behavior. Females were found to drive with more cautious headways. This provides evidence for sex dependent driving.
Sex was found to be a factor when looking at the sex of the pedestrian in Hauber's study (1980). Drivers showed aggression twice as often when the pedestrian was male rather than female. Male pedestrians seemed to arouse more aggression than female ones.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- They look like the ghostly outlines of crime victims, and in a way, they are.

Wherever the city's streets have been marked by tragedy, Ken Kelton marks them over again. He spray paints the silhouettes of crumpled pedestrians who were struck and killed by cars.

He considers it his own symbolic campaign against reckless driving -- something he feels has already taken far too many lives.

``If there was a serial killer out there,'' Kelton said, by way of comparison, ``everyone would be jumping into action.''

So far, Kelton has made about 50 outlines. He'll keep at it, he said, until people take notice of the scourge in the streets.

``For a long time, I've been uncomfortable with the domination of the automobile,'' said, Kelton, who works as a contractor. ``A picture is worth a thousand words. I'm trying to underscore that this is life and death.''

Authorities say 29 pedestrians have been killed in San Francisco since July 1, 1998. That's about an average year for the city and far below the 41 in 1997-98, according to Nick Carr, pedestrian and bicycle safety coordinator for the city's parking and traffic department.
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All rights reserved by Associated Press Information Services.

'I did a flip, my legs sprawled higher than the car, and landed on the sidewalk' by Myung Kim Daily News Staff Writer
The last thing I saw was a big black sedan.

I was walking to work, and I was halfway across 16th Street at the intersection with Callowhill Street. The black car had barely paused at the stop sign and was barreling through the intersection up 16th Street.

The next thing I knew, I was on my back on the sidewalk.

I began to heave loud sobs, nearly hyperventilating.

I couldn't move my right leg. The left side of my jaw throbbed.

A crowd quickly surrounded me. A woman kneeled down and stroked my hand, telling me to stay calm.

I was strapped into a neck brace and a board and loaded into a fire rescue truck.

During the short ride to the hospital, I looked at the ceiling of the truck and cried. I couldn't believe this had happened to me. I didn't know how badly I was hurt, or even what exactly had happened.

I could barely walk because the car had hit me in the leg, and I was swollen and sore all over. But I hadn't broken any bones. I left the hospital that afternoon.

That night, I found out how lucky I was.

I talked to a witness, a woman from South Jersey who works near the site of the accident. She told me she had seen everything.

(...)

For the next two weeks, I felt like I had no control over my emotions.

Much of the time, I felt nervous and shaky. I had trouble sleeping. I felt good one minute and like the world was coming to an end the next minute. I would cry without notice or reason. I would muster the will to do something as small as go Christmas shopping, and drop the idea. I didn't look forward to anything.

A doctor diagnosed me as having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is how he explained it:

(...)

It took about a month for me to fully return to normal.

But the accident changed me forever, for better and worse.

Because I narrowly escaped death, I now appreciate small things I took for granted before, like being excited about going on a trip and being able to have a productive day at work. I have a new appreciation for life.

On the other hand, I still run across intersections. I feel like a walking target on the streets, and I watch cars like a hawk.

The doctors visits are never-ending. And new ailments keep cropping up.

Now, I know what rage feels like. I found out who the driver is. He's a 75-year-old man from North Philadelphia.

He never said a word to me or contacted me. If he's sorry, he's too chicken to tell me. I don't think I could control myself if I ever saw him.

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