The big difference in fuel consumption between an aggressive and normal driver in city centre traffic is due to the highly dynamic driving pattern. In rural traffic fuel consumption for an aggressive driver increases by 20% though there is a significant gain in average speed.

The fuel consumption of cars in motorway traffic is more or less independent of driving behaviour. Average speed is very constant and acceleration is limited. Ring-road traffic at low average speeds results in lower fuel consumption compared with the same average speeds in city centre traffic. Differences between aggressive and normal driving behaviour were also less pronounced: 15 to 20% instead of 40%. These better fuel consumption results are due to the continuous traffic flows that are guaranteed on ring-roads even when there are traffic jams."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 8, 2000

"U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today marked an historic moment in American transportation safety by formally inaugurating the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Secretary Slater called on the newest agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide the leadership, direction and action necessary to continue to improve motor carrier safety, save lives and guide the nation to reduce by 50 percent truck- and bus-related fatalities by 2010."

• According to a national survey recently conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the majority of motorists consider unsafe driving by others a significant threat to their personal safety. The survey results, released January 22, 1999, included:
  
• 98 percent of those surveyed felt it was important to do something about unsafe driving. Of that 98 percent, 75 percent felt it was very important.
  About one in three felt that drivers in their area were driving somewhat or a lot more aggressively than a year ago.
  
• Among reasons for increased aggressive driving, respondents included drivers being rushed or behind schedule (23 percent); increased traffic or congestion (22 percent); careless, inconsiderate drivers (12 percent); and immature, young drivers (12 percent).
  
• More than half (59 percent) of the drivers reported they see vehicles traveling at unsafe speeds all (31 percent) or most of the time (28 percent). Another 35 percent saw drivers traveling at unsafe speeds at least some of the time.
  
• Respondents listed the following as unsafe behaviors, other than speed, that they encounter on the roads: weaving in and out of traffic (24 percent), tailgating (17 percent), driver inattention (15 percent), and unsafe lane changes (10 percent).
  http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/enforce/aggressdrivers/index.html

Several other common moving violations, such as speeding or
reckless driving, can mean a 60-day suspension for a second
offense.

see article here

DrDriving:
My name is Dave and I live in the Seattle area of Washington. The road rage is really getting bad here. I have had my share of it and am making an effort to help stop it. I once was on my way to work. It was one of the coldest days of the winter and the wind was blowing hard.

I was late and was trying to hurry because if I was late again I would be in big trouble. Possibly suspended. I am not a morning person. Anyway, I pass this car on the side of the road that the shoulder is quite narrow. I see this nicely dressed woman reading (what I later found out) the directions on how to change her flat tire. I passed her and felt terrible. The guilt took over and I took the next exit and circled back and pulled up behind her and got out. She was very confused and panicked. I asked her if she needed help and she said she was going to something very important to her daughter. I can't remember what it was. The cars were flying by at the usual 65 mph. It was probably about 10 degrees out with a wind chill factor of minus who knows.

I looked over the situation and I told her to get in her car from the right side and put her seatbelt on in case some one rear ended us. I backed up my truck to create a barrier in case of the worst possibility of someone slamming into us. I jacked up her Cadillac and changed her tire. When I was done I was frozen and dirty. I secured the flat in the trunk and walked around to assure her that she was okay to go. She opened the passenger side window and tried to offer me money. I could not accept and she smiled and tried again. I said no again and I saw a tear come to her eye. I said go see your daughter and walked back to my truck. Off she went, and I started my way to work again. I knew I was in big trouble. But when I got there. I was the first one on shift and was supposed to get things ready for the rest of the crew. But the time clock was not working. So I hurried and got caught up on my work. the next person came in and tried to punch in and saw the time clock was down. None of us could clock in that day and an engineer fixed it later that morning. I didn't get in trouble and I felt wonderful all day.

"In half of the two-vehicle fatal crashes involving a large truck and another type of vehicle, both vehicles were proceeding straight at the time of the crash. In 10 percent of the crashes, the other vehicle was turning. In 9 percent, either the truck or the other vehicle was negotiating a curve. In 8 percent, either the truck or the other vehicle was stopped or parked in a traffic lane (6 percent and 2 percent, respectively)."

Truckers News publisher Robert Lake
rlake@truckersnews.com

Truckers know what it’s like to have the middle finger flashed at them — many now know what it’s like to have a weapon waved at them. “It’s getting to be a fact of driving life,” Shawn Grimes, a trucker with Elliot Trucking, says. Grimes has been driving for four years and has had a gun pulled on him three times.

The first time was on a crowded freeway in Los Angeles. The second, on a highway leading into Atlanta. The third time, a car driver passed him 20 miles after first flashing the gun — and fired. The bullet smashed through Grimes’ sleeper, entered Grimes’ two-year old son Anthony’s shoulder, and exited through the right side of the toddler’s face. The child faces lifelong reconstruction, therapy and medical bills. Truckers outraged over the incident contributed money to the Anthony Grimes Foundation and aided police by distributing posters of a composite drawing of the shooter’s female companion. Truckers News contributed $10,000 toward a reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter, but hope of finding him dims as leads wane. Truckers express their compassion to the Grimes family, but their sense of helplessness over the incident and others like it continues to rage.

“During an average day in the U.S., 100 drivers step into their cars and don’t emerge alive. I estimate that there are more than 2 billion aggressive driving exchanges per day in the U.S.” says Dr. Leon James, author of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare.

James believes drivers display hostility they would consider inappropriate in a home or work environment, and his research confirms that to some degree, nearly everyone experiences feelings of anger and retaliation on the road.

A report released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety indicates serious incidents of road rage have risen 51 percent since 1990. Most of the incidents occur on crowded freeways and many have begun to involve car and truck altercations such as Grimes experienced.

Truckers often feel the attacks are personal and directed at their driving. But ordinary citizens with no previous history of aggression or arrests can commit crimes fueled by road rage. A bad day at work, a relationship gone sour or an accumulation of perceived injustices all can prompt seemingly normal people to commit acts of highway violence.

When someone lashes out at you, be prepared to drive defensively and courteously. Remember: an encounter that starts with the flash of a middle finger can turn life-threatening. Be careful; it’s a war out there.

(...)

Federal regulators have designated 511 as the number to call for local traffic information. The plan is modeled after the 911 emergency number.

It will be up to local governments to decide how to implement and pay for the new number. That means 511 will not be available in the Dallas-Fort Worth area right away.

The Texas Department of Transportation already monitors roads around the Metroplex using a network of 57 cameras. Using information from the cameras, TxDOT is able to dispatch courtesy patrol crews to stranded drivers.

Still, the idea of supplying more information to north Texas drivers appeals to traffic specialist Mike West.

"The more people know, the more they can take alternate routes," West said. His only concern is the cost, and whether TxDOT will have the resources and manpower to support the new 511 code.

Pilot programs are being set up in five U.S. cities, though none are in north Texas. The outcome of those programs will help determine whether 511 becomes as common nationwide as 911.

To learn more about the new code, visit the Federal Communications Commission online.

June, 2000
Fatality Facts 1998: Large Trucks

February, 2000
Axles to Grind: Driving Questions About the Limits to Place on Trucks Traveling Our Roads

September, 1999
A Crash Course in How to Steer Clear of Trucks

February, 1999
Indiana Study Shows Double-Trailer Vehicles Not Overinvolved in Crashes

February, 1999
National Crash Data Bases Underestimate Underride Statistics

July 17, 1998
Canadian and U.S. Truckers May Not Be Getting Enough Sleep

December, 1997
Oregon Study Looks at Potential Pavement Damage from High-Pressure Truck Tires and Single-Tired Axles

October, 1997
Large Trucks a Significant Factor in Major Freeway Incidents in Houston, Texas

September, 1997
University of Tennessee Hosts Large Truck Symposium

August, 1997
Truck Escape Ramps: Determining the Need and the Location

August, 1997
Appeals Court Reviews "Legal Duty" and "Discretionary Function" in Runaway Ramp Crash in Idaho

August, 1997
Study Discussed Characteristics of Longer Combination Vehicles (LCVs) in Relation to Roadway Design

June, 1997
Vehicle-Arresting Net Successfully Tested in France

May 28, 1997
Q&A: Large Trucks

February 1, 1997
Lime-Yellow Fire Trucks Safer Than Red: A Conclusion from Four Years of Data

source here

April 26, 2000

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Truckers say they can only sleep so much -- or drive so long.

Long-distance drivers interviewed at one of the country's major crossroads were unanimous Tuesday in their disapproval of proposed federal regulations requiring 10 to 12 hours' rest between driving shifts.

"You can't lay in bed that long. It's going to create a problem," said Don Alyea of Kansas City, Mo.

Alyea's truck was among 50 or so big-rig diesels stopped Tuesday at the Travel Centers of America truck stop. Located at the intersection of Interstates 25 and 40 in Albuquerque, the truck stop handles an estimated 100,000 rigs a year.

Mandatory rest longer

Under existing, 60-year-old regulations, truckers can drive no more than 10 hours straight, followed by at least eight hours off, leaving open the possibility of driving as much as 16 hours in a 24-hour period.

The new rules would require big-rig drivers to take a mandatory rest period of 10 consecutive hours every 24 hours, with an additional two hours of rest taken during the work shift or at its beginning or end. Drivers could conceivably work 12 hours on and 12 off each day.

"A man can't sleep 12 hours," said Danny O'Brien, a trucker from Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.

"If you sleep eight hours and wake up, you still have to wait four hours before you start driving again," O'Brien said. "That's 16 hours you have to be awake."

original continued here

By George Abry
Staff Reporter

Donald Graham didn't like what he saw one February evening on I-95 in Massachusetts. Two men in a car were tailgating a woman driver, flashing their lights in a threatening manner.

Indignant, Mr. Graham began following the men closely, flashing his own lights. After about eight miles of mutual antagonism, the men stopped on an access road and got out of their cars.

At some point during the resulting altercation, Mr. Graham, 54, a retired bookkeeper and minister, produced a hunting crossbow from his trunk and released a 29-inch arrow into the chest of Michael Blodgett, one of the other motorists. Mr. Blodgett, 42, later died at an area hospital.

Today, Mr. Graham's congregation is his fellow inmates at Massachusetts Correctional Institute, where he is serving a life sentence without parole for first degree murder with extreme atrocity. Mrs. Graham is divorcing him, and he regrets the way things turned out.

"I'm sorry that it happened; I wish it hadn't happened; I just didn't like what I saw," Mr. Graham said in a recent television interview from jail.

Mr. Graham's case may sound outlandish but it illustrates a growing national problem: increasing hostility on the highway, coupled with a readiness to resort to violence over small provocations.

Statistics are not much help. A recent survey by the American Automobile Association indicates 10,037 recorded incidents of aggressive driving in the past six years. It found that 12,610 people were injured in those incidents, and at least 218 men, women and children were killed.

But the vast majority of these incidents are not reported.

One study found that nearly 90% of motorists surveyed had experienced an aggressive driving incident in the past year.

There is no single description of aggressive behavior behind the wheel. Its manifestations are as varied as human nature, and the terms "aggressive driving" and "road rage" are used interchangeably in the media.

Incidents frequently begin with an action that angers or scares another driver -- tailgating or indiscriminate lane changing, for example. Raising the middle finger to another driver has gotten people shot, stabbed or beaten in every state of the union.

Explanations of the phenomenon range from obvious observations about how people behave to complex analyses of cultural and psychological causes.

"I think a lot of it is stress: people in this country are being stressed out," said David K. Willis, president of AAA Foundation forTraffic Safety.

"People are worried about losing their jobs, companies are downsizing, people feel as though their workloads are unreasonable, workplace violence is up. It's more than just bad behavior on the road."

No one can dispute the relationship between stress and highway congestion. Metropolitan areas with the worst traffic problems experience the worst cases of road rage.

Although the number of miles driven nationally has increased some 35% since of 1987, the number of miles of roads has increased 1%. Almost 70% of urban freeways are choked with traffic during rush hour, according to a recent study by the Federal Highway Administration.

To make matters worse, people are relying more on cars than on mass transit. This is thanks in part to jobs shifting from cities to suburbs.

For truck drivers, road rage is a daily hazard. "It's out there every day on the road," said Larry I. Ripley, a 30-year driver with Matlack Inc., a tank truck operation based in Wilmington, Del.

"For the most part, I witness passenger car vehicles driving aggressively. We don't want people to fear us, but just respect the size that we are."

According to Mr. Willis of AAA, road rage appears not to be a truck driver problem. "From the numbers we've seen it seems to be more of a young male problem."

The authors of the AAA study have drawn a profile of the aggressive driver with the most lethal inclination. Dangerous aggressive drivers would most likely be "relatively young, poorly educated males who have criminal records, histories of violence, and drug or alcohol problems."

But truck drivers are not exempt from making poor decisions because of anger. "What we have been seeing is that characteristics of aggressive driving cover all drivers and vehicle types," said Captain Greg Shipley, spokesman for the Maryland state police.

"There are some truck drivers out there who have characteristics of being aggressive, and there are some aggressive car drivers. But I do not think you can say there is more of one than the other."

Jeff Weinberg, an owner-operator leased to Westran Inc. and based out of Billings, Mont., recalls an incident earlier this year at a truck stop in Walcott, Iowa, where one driver attacked another with a baseball bat. The assailant was provoked by the apparent refusal of the victim to cut off his high beam headlights as they entered the truck stop from opposite directions.

"That never would have happened 10 years ago," Mr. Weinberg said. "I think the industry is starting to bring in people who possibly don't deserve to be there. There is a certain mentality you need to be in this business."

Mr. Weinberg felt his own anger rising after picking up a load on Monday and hustling to deliver it by Friday only to be told the plant would be shut down for inventory.

This kind of preventable delay is devastating for truck drivers who are generally paid by the mile and are gone from home for weeks at a time.

Mr. Weinberg would like to see more truck stops like the one in New Mexico that has weight rooms, racquetball courts and jogging trails. "It really helps release a lot of tension," he said.

Bill Emrick of Columbia Falls, Mont., hauls oversize and overweight loads throughout the U.S. and Canada for Westran. "The whole atmosphere of driving in urban traffic has changed. There's no civility left," he said.

"We're moving oversized loads and even with escort vehicles, people go around on the shoulder honking their horn and giving you the bird. I try hard to be very courteous."

Mr. Emrick said most of the reckless driving he sees is probably due to people being in too much of a hurry. "They see a big truck as just being in the way."

In some states, differential speed limits are a source of aggravation for truck drivers and four-wheelers alike, he said. In congested areas especially, traffic tends to back up behind slower trucks, blocking ramps and making it impossible for trucks to pass each other.

Road rage claims innocent victims as well as perpetrators. Mr. Emrick recalls one incident in which two cars collided in front of his truck after each tried to cut in from opposite lanes. Although he was able to avoid hitting the stopped vehicles, police officers blamed him for the accident.

Possible solutions cover as much ground as the causes of the phenomenon.

At a public hearing this summer on Capitol Hill, Rep. Bud Shuster, R-Pa., called for more highway funding to reduce congestion and relieve driver tension.

"There are many ways to improve safety on our highways," said Mr. Shuster, who chairs the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. "The construction of additional lanes, the widening of roads and the straightening of curves would decrease congestion and reduce the impatience and unsafe habits of some motorists."

University of Hawaii traffic psychology professor Leon James told the committee that "behavioral modification techniques" should be employed.

"The culture of road rage has deep roots," Mr. James said. "We inherit aggressive and dangerous driving patterns as children, watching our parents and other adults behind the wheel, and by watching and absorbing bad driving behaviors depicted in movies and television commercials."

Mr. James recommends a set of emotional management techniques he refers to as "inner power tools" for smart driving. They include: acquiring a supportive driving philosophy; acting positive even when you feel negative; regularly considering the effect of one's driving on others.

He suggests that instead of emphasizing defensive driving -- which may imply an enemy -- we should focus on "supportive driving." But most of all, Mr. James recommends "driving with the aloha spirit."

Some states are running programs to counter road rage. In Maryland, for example, the highway department has a campaign called "The End of the Road for Aggressive Drivers" involving stepped-up highway patrols and messages flashed on electronic billboards. Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have introduced special highway patrols targeting aggressive drivers.

Further, judicial authorities are taking steps to curb violent behavior.

On Sept. 18, a Virginia judge sentenced a motorist to one year in jail for forcing an off-duty police officer to pull her car over, and then choking her.

General District Court Judge Barbara L. Kimble said during the sentencing that she has been hearing more and more cases in her court involving aggressive driving.

"If judges would put people in jail, these things would not happen," Ms. Kimble said.

Swift and sure punishment is an effective deterrent, and public information efforts can reduce the problem by focusing attention on it. But in the end, it comes down to individual responsibility. What's required is grace under pressure: Drivers must maintain composure in the face of seeming chaos on the road.

"The key factor for a professional driver is being tolerant of it," said Matlack's Mr. Ripley. "Professional drivers do not let it bother them -- otherwise you stoop to their level."

original here

Truckers not getting enough shut eye Drivers average less than 5 hours of sleep a night
More than half of the truckers in the study, who were videotaped as they drove, experienced at least one six-minute interval of drowsiness while driving. Truckers were most vulnerable to drowsiness late in the night or early in the morning, when the body naturally wants to shut down.

More than 110,000 people are injured and 5,000 killed in the United States each year in commercial truck accidents. The Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that perhaps 30 percent of those deaths, and 70 percent of the injuries, are directly attributable to accidents caused by sleep deprivation.

But sleepy truckers may not be the only menace on the road. In an editorial accompanying the article, Dr. William Dement of Stanford University said the findings reflect his belief that "pervasive drowsy driving is an established fact in the United States," with more than half of the general public driving while sleep deprived.

"We're beginning to realize that drowsiness or sleep deprivation, fatigue, is beginning to outstrip alcohol as a cause of accidents in transportation, particularly on the highway," Dement said.

Dear DrDriving:
May I schedule an interview with you for 9:30 am your time. (Please confirm). Our audience will be truck drivers, primarily semi truck drivers. Therefore the video itself will focus on Road Rage and the trucking industry.

Do they encounter more RR situations because they're on the road all the time?

Do other drivers view trucks/truckers as a problem and perhaps become more angry at them?

Because truckers are on the road so much do they tend to be more anxious or more lenient regarding people?

Who provokes them?

How does general Road Rage info and how to prevent it pertain directly to truck drivers.?

There is little info on Road Rage and the trucking industry...so...I'm on a mission to find out what I can by researching it myself. This interview with you is part of that research. The info I gather at this stage will allow me to write the video script. Then in a couple months we will interview people again, in person with a camera crew. In your case we may hire a local crew there to shoot it for us.

Dr. Leon James Answers:
Truckers do have an image problem. I’ve seen it in people’s comments over the years. So I think truckers need to fix this image. One approach I would recommend is to acquire Inner Power Tools on a long term basis. It takes practice and dedication, but it’s worth it. One such tool I recommend Come Out Swinging Positive. This means taking charge in a positive way where normally we’re being negative. Example: try to remember this: what does your face look like during your mini-encounters with four wheelers? What do those drivers see: a cold tired displeased face (which reflects how you feel inside), or a pleasant upbeat smiling face (which is the image we want to project as truck drivers)? This is considered professionalism.

Truckers have a choice about this negative image: to complain about it and feel bad, or to actively do things to change that image. Actually I don't think this would be difficult because most people realize in the back of their mind that they owe their daily commodities and conveniences largely to truckers who bring that good stuff in every day to the supermarkets and warehouses. So people are inwardly pre-disposed to honor truckers for this indispensable work. So the general public would respond well to friendly initiatives by truckers.

One thing truckers need to watch out for is where the other drivers are oversensitive to trucks and feel intimidated by trucks because of their size. So truck operators should take care to follow from a greater distance than they're used to. Drivers will begin to appreciate this gesture. Another is for truckers to allow four wheelers into their lanes and to wave or smile when they pass other drivers. This will go a long way to fix their image, and the truckers will feel so much appreciated and rewarded for what they’re doing.

BOSTON HEIGHTS: Steven Graham never thought that running out of gas would send another motorist spinning emotionally out of control. But that's what he thinks happened yesterday morning, when a truck driver pulled off state Route 8 and ran into him as he tried to fill his vehicle with a can of gas.

``I thought he was going to give me a hand,'' said Graham, 30, of Ravenna. ``Instead, all he wanted to do was pick a fight.'' Police classify the case as the latest incident of road rage along the congested north-south route through northern Summit County. Full Story here.

The big rig crashed into the cycle, and the rider went flying over the truck's engine and landed at the side of the road. The truck continued for about 200 yards, with the Harley-Davidson cycle lodged in the bumper. The motorcyclist, Michael McClatchy, 30, of Stockton, was in serious condition late Wednesday in a Modesto hospital with severe injuries to his legs, a nursing supervisor said. The big rig driver, John Fagundes, 45, of Turlock, was booked at Stanislaus County Jail for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon. More serious charges could be filed, depending on the victim's condition and the investigation, police spokesman Terry Miller said. "This is really taking road rage to the extreme," Miller said. "To have a truck driver intentionally run over a motorcyclist. It's the first time I've seen something like this."

The crash occurred at about 3 p.m. on the Standiford Avenue-Beckwith Road offramp from southbound Highway 99. The incident began at least half an hour earlier, police said. There were conflicting reports about whether it started near Manteca or French Camp.

It also was unclear exactly what started the feud. Fagundes said the confrontation began near the Highway 120 exit in Manteca when the motorcyclist slowed down in front of him and made an obscene finger gesture. Fagundes said he passed the Harley and saw the motorcyclist pull to the side of the road and pick up some rocks. The biker then caught up to the big rig and began pelting it with rocks as the two continued southbound, Fagundes said.

After the incident, Fagundes pointed to marks on his truck he said were caused by the thrown rocks. California Highway Patrol officers at the scene could not confirm Fagundes' claim. As the two neared Modesto, Fagundes called 911 from a cell phone. "I called 911 telling them to get someone out here, that he was throwing rocks at my truck," he said. At 3 p.m., McClatchy exited the highway and started climbing the Beckwith-Standiford offramp.

A witness told police he saw the truck cut across two lanes to get onto the offramp and then accelerate to catch up with the bike. "I saw black smoke coming from his stacks which means he was accelerating," the witness said. "You could see the truck was after him." The big rig caught McClatchy about halfway up the offramp.

Modesto's Karyn Brooks was exiting the highway at the same time and saw the motorcycle and truck coming at her from behind: "I looked in my rearview mirror when I heard the noise. The truck was barreling up the offramp. He was going a lot faster than he should have been." Brooks stopped to help the biker after he'd fallen to the side of the road. She said a big chunk of his helmet had broken off and that his legs were mangled. The motorcycle remained upright, locked under the big rig's bumper. The bike's undercarriage carved a rut in the pavement, and the front tire left a dark skid mark that stretched up the offramp, across the intersection and down the onramp where the truck came to a stop. Both ramps remained closed seven hours later as officers continued to investigate the crash.

posted here

Somebody posted this reply:

There is NO SUCH THING as "road rage" There is only MURDER, attempted MURDER, assault and other things BAD people do.
The truck driver is a MURDERER since he committed an attempted murder. I don't thing attempted murder should be less of a crime as murder. That's rewarding incompetence. The incompetent gets out sooner and trys murder again. The truck driver should swing from a rope!

Somebody replied:

Okay, guys, 'splain this one to me. Why on earth would anybody riding a motorcycle try to provoke somebody driving an 18-wheeler? That's like a mouse trying to provoke a lion, IMHO. I jest don't get it.

Babyface--->truckers *always* have the right-of-way when I'm on the interstate

Advice from another:

Folks who decide to play road games with big rigs should remember two rules:

Rule of the road #1:
In any collision, the greater mass always wins. Always.

Rule of the road #2:
"But I had the right of way" is just the right length to fit on a tombstone.

Next writer:

'm wondering, just based on the photo on the site, whether or not the motorcycle driver might not have just pulled up in front of this guy's rig and slowed down dramatically. Not that I'm ready to let the trucker walk until there's more known, but that's one of the hideous tactics you see on the road all the time, and stopping with an 18-Wheeler is *not* the same as stopping a Mazda Miata.

If the guy on the bike really did initiate this moronic exchange, and pulled the slow-down-real-fast trick on the guy in the rig, he's more responsible than the rig driver for what happened.

Another writer:

Scary thought they would let someone like that behind the wheel of one of those big rigs. I'm surprised he didn't jack knife it.

Do you have comments? Write to:  letters@DrDriving.org

May 22, 2000

By Mercedes Diaz

NEW YORK (APBnews.com) -- Traffic safety experts say those narrow, tree-lined streets that wend their way through neighborhoods around the country can be effective in slowing down speeding drivers.

Some traffic safety advocates are now calling for a narrowing of roadways throughout cities as a way to promote safety for motorists and pedestrians.

But other traffic safety experts disagree. They say that narrowing wide streets may endanger lives by increasing the number of traffic accidents.

(...)

But there may be a downside to the street-narrowing proposals, said J.L. Gattis, an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Arkansas. The results of his study, published earlier this year in the Journal of Transportation Engineering, conclude that narrowing streets does not necessarily slow down traffic or make the streets safer.

Motorists tend to drive fast on arterials, then gradually slow down as they travel through local streets.

"If all the streets are narrow, the developer is going to spend less. But if there are accidents, the cost is going to be borne by the residents," Gattis said.

(...)

If the street is too narrow and "you park a car on the street, then a fire truck can't get by," he said.

Walter Morris, a supervisor at the Rockland County Fire Training Center in New York state, said the international fire safety code dictates that streets be built to allow a minimum of 20 to 25 feet of access. That way, said Morris, if a fire truck is parked in front of a structure, a second truck can safely pass around it.

(...)

Engineers on both sides of the issue agree that the debate is just in its infancy. And on both sides of the issue, there have been accusations of being pro-car or anti-car.

(...)

While some drivers are perfectly happy driving a truck, others act out their frustration and cynicism as aggressive driving. Take a few moments to reflect on yourself as a truck driver by considering each of the following items, as they may apply to you. This list was supplied by Safety Managers whose job it is to train and supervise hundreds of truck drivers every year. These are the top 6 problems and concerns they have experienced with their truck drivers.

1.) Anonymity is still the biggest factor with all aggressive drivers. Although, professional drivers seem to forget that their company name and truck number is all over the side of their vehicle.

2.) Because of their size, they have a greater feeling of superiority. This also makes them the victim of road rage as well.

3.) Although their job often depends on their safe driving, the company they drive for often is the main target of litigation. This will lessen the feeling of personal responsibility for some drivers.

4.) Tailgating remains the number one sin of the professional driver and is the main cause of most at fault accidents involving commercial vehicles. It is also the number one reason for motorists complaints.

5.) Professional drivers, because of their ability to operate an 18-wheeler, have a feeling of superiority. Some believe it their obligation to teach proper driving habits to automobiles through intimidation. The reason for some to tailgate.

6.) Truck driving is the job of last resort for some drivers. Being away from home for long periods of time creates many personal problems. They are raging at home, at work as well as on the highways. Often the personalities that we find common with aggressive drivers are the same personalities that we find with some truck drivers.

Well, how did you come out? Remember: it's never too late change! I found out as DrDriving that changing my driving habits wasn't easy--until I started re-training myself from the bottom up. I'm still doing it because there is always room for my improvement. Let me know your perspective on this. Do you see a need for you to improve as a truck driver?

Hi DrDriving- I am a writer for a trucking magazine, RPM for Truckers, an have been assigned an article on Road Rage. Could I possibly get a phone interview with you about your work. I would appreciate your help. Mostly I am interested in you, how you got into this field, how you feel you have helped, what the future holds and perhaps a few words that illustrate that road rage is an extension of rage that may be a marker of changes in our society in general (if that's true). would enjoy talking with you, I promise to keep it 15 min.

Gary Bricken, Editor
RPM for Truckers
RPM eXtra, & TRUX

Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 20:54:21 -1000
From: "DrDriving" DrDriving@DrDriving.org
To: gbricken@txdirect.net
Subject: your fax

Hi Gary,

Thanks for the faxed article (Spring 1998 issue). I think you did a fine job with the whole thing--not too erudite or abstract, yet dealing with causes of things. Well I have one thing to clarify about the list of aggressive driving behaviors. Yours is a fine list but you might consider adding emotions and thoughts, not just overt actions--because these are also good signals:

--having fantasies about doing violence to someone

--thinking overcritically of other drivers most of the time

--feeling depressed about one's lack of enjoyment behind the wheel

--feeling in a hurry all the time, not being able to drive in a calm mode

--ignoring one's own 'DrDriving' conscience and taking excessive risks

--feeling happy about another driver's mishap or trouble

--hating the road and feeling disconnected from other drivers

--stressing over highway police

--no longer experiencing joy and security behind the wheel

You see what I mean: they are not OVERT actions or behaviors, yet they are part of driving because driving is made up of 3 parts acting together: one's feelings, one's thoughts, and one's actions. I'm wondering if you've seen the interview I gave for SuperDriver Magazine a few months ago which was also for a professional driver audience. Here is a piece of it:

There are three driving styles, corresponding to three levels of emotional intelligence. The lowest form of emotional intelligence is to drive in an oppositional style. This means letting your emotions do the driving. We all have our favorite pet peeves about driving rules, and if somebody steps on one of them, we react by feeling offended, and expressing it in some form of aggression. For example, you might see another driver forget to turn off the signal indicator. It's automatic to denigrate and ridicule that driver in your mind. Or, a truck is left idling when you feel it shouldn't and you get incensed at the stupidity of the owner. Or, the car in front of you is driving too slow for no reason you can detect, and you rev your engine or blast your horn as you overtake the car, to make sure the driver gets your message of displeasure. This style of oppositonal driving will get you into trouble and make your life on the road miserable.
read more here
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Another angle of interest might be to discuss exercises drivers can do such as the Threestep Program. And finally, the Random Acts of Kindness for Drivers is something truckers would surely endorse as a desirable thing (because it improves highway community and mutual support).

Take care and drive with Aloha spirit!
**DrDriving**

(Fresno-AP) -- While local politicians negotiate the administrative details of installing red-light cameras, Fresno intersections remain among the deadliest in the nation.

A report made public Thursday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that Fresno led California and ranked 11th nationally in deaths caused by red-light running with nearly six fatalities per 100,000 people for the years 1992 to 1998.

Fresno ranked seventh nationally and first in California in 1998 with 4.9 deaths per 100,000 for the 1992-96 period.

Since then, the city has cracked down on red-light runners by adding traffic officers, issuing $270 fines and installing so-called "rat boxes," which help patrol officers detect offenders.

But, as the latest reports show, city streets have become more dangerous.

The cameras photograph vehicles running red lights and violators are sent tickets in the mail.

The devices, which have been used for years in Europe and are in about 40 U.S. communities, are endorsed by the insurance institute.

Stories posted 7/14/00

Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press

original here

If not, you should for a week. There is no one on the the road that sees the rage and what causes it. We get crucified daily because there are few survivors when we have an accident. I've been driving a tracter trailer since 1971 and never had an accident, at fault or not at fault, and only one moving violation. That's not bad for a guy that drives 150,000 miles a year. I have seen road rage increase every year. You should see what people do around us, you won't believe your eyes. You've heard it all before, the point is all you "experts" need to see it not hear it. A trucker is nailed to the wall when involved in an accident. What you never hear about are the people that did'nt die because of actions we take to avoid a sure accident. I probably save 8-10 lives a year because I let other drivers have their way.

I won't bore you anymore, thanks for listening.

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

Truck Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP)

"In conjunction with a statewide Occupant Protection Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (OP-STEP) initiated in 1996, officials from Vermont's State Highway Safety Office (SHSO) conducted a series of motorist surveys on traffic safety issues associated with large trucks. Survey results indicated a problem with oversize and insecure truck loads, a low rate of safety belt use among truck drivers (44.4 percent) and cars operating unsafely around trucks. Many drivers were unaware of proper truck passing techniques and were not familiar with the No-Zone--that area directly around a truck where visibility is poor and crashes are more likely to occur. To address these concerns the Highway Safety Office integrated a Truck Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) component into its existing OP-STEP.

A few seconds later I heard the sound of a horn. A loud, irradiated truck driver horn.. I looked in the mirror again and saw the grill of the truck staring back. It scared me so much I grabbed the wheel and gave it a hard jerk to the right. We were on the side of the road now, I was trying to slow down a little because there was gravel. Just then the truck flew by honking its horn in long, drawn out blasts. My car doesn't just get up and go, I know that but, I was driving at around sixty when this happened. I know I didn't pull out in front of him. I gave him plenty of time. My sister-in-law jotted down the 800 number that was on the back of the truck. When I called it to report one of their drivers, they told me they were just the company that sells the tarps to the trucks

++++++++++++++++++

From leon@hawaii.edu Sun Sep 13 08:31:57 1998
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 08:30:58 -1000
From: Leon James leon@hawaii.edu
To: z1@webtv.net
Subject: Re: road rage

Thanks for telling me the story about the truck incident. I posted it so it can have an effect. Truck drivers, no less than other drivers, need to learn to be supportive road users, even though they are pressured by delivery schedules.
DrDriving
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From: AFR@webtv.net
To: DrDriving@DrDriving.org
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 05:07:56 -1000
Subject: Without trucks America stops!!!! Truck drivers get a bad rap

DrDriving:
The four wheeled population needs to be educated on the proper way to drive on the same highways with trucks. A big truck needs to race to approach a hill, and needs room going down a hill; that is why sometimes you will find a big truck going slower than you, trying to pass a slower vehicle in front of him/her, just to make the hill. They're not doing that to lane hog-- they're just trying to keep the truck moving.

So next time a big truck puts his/her signal on for a lane change, look ahead of him/her and I'll bet there is good reason for it. Let him/her in and I guarantee you will get to your destination at the same time, if not sooner--or you can box him/her in, cause him/her to brake, swerve and cut you off; which in turn pisses you off to the point of showing the truck driver he's #1 with your finger and you have the start of road rage.

Remember, even if you hate trucks, you cannot survive without them!!!! This country would collapse without trucks. That is all!! Copy that?
THE ROAD SURFER.

(May. 6, 1997) -- You roll down the window for some fresh air, take a sip of coffee and turn up the radio. Most people have experienced drowsiness at the wheel but technology may soon change this familiar scene.

Automobile manufacturers are considering installing a "drowsiness detection system" in dashboards. The system would release a peppermint or lemon-menthol scented infusion into vehicles to revive drivers from their sleepy state.

The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has committed $1.2 million to develop, test and evaluate the warning system for commercial vehicles and expect to have a result by the end of September 1997. Paul Rau, an engineering research psychologist for the agency, says that they are also testing a warning system that replicates the sound of rumble strips at the side of the road and a vibrating seat, along with the peppermint scent to make drivers more alert.

Original article here

DrDriving:
People have often been kind to me on the road in many different places. An experienced driver, I have driven in Mexico, Spain, England, California, Germany and Austria. But the incident I appreciated the most took place in my own city during the rush hour one evening. when I suddenly suffered a flat tire and had to pull over on a busy expressway. A gentleman in a truck stopped, asked me to get in, and drove me to the nearest gas station to get help. Until then, I felt very much alone and abandoned by the road as the cars whisizeed by. Thanks to that random act of kindness, I was able to be home in time to cook dinner for my family.
Lee
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From r@uslink.net Sun Oct 18 22:13:54 1998
Date: Sun, 18 Oct 1998 09:31:28 -1000
To: DrDriving@DrDriving.org
Subject: Biking

DrDriving:
Hi my name is Aaron,

I don't know about al your theories about driving, but I agree that it has to be something. I have been hit by a car once this summer, that was accidental (I had the right of way), but once a driver saw me and my friend biking and purposely pulled out in front of us (we were biking on the sidewalk (like we always do in our small town in Minnesota), the truck forced me out into one of the busiest highways in Minnesota, going the wrong way! My friend made a tight squese behind the truck. Luckily I was able to jump the curve before the next car came. My friend doesn't know how to jump curves, if he hadn't been on the outside he would have been hit head on by a car going 65.

Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 17:08:29 -1000
From: d@yebb.com
To: DrDriving@DrDriving.org
Subject: road rage

DrDriving:
I just find it amazing at the way people from a rural area such as South Dak can drive like they're at a big race some where. Driving a tow truck everyday up to 200 miles a day in town and weighing almost 13000 lbs. I am what I consider a safe driver, with only one accident in 7 years of driving a tow truck and that was were somebody turned in front of me and I had no where to go. driving a tow truck my safety zone is a little longer for the simple fact that towing a car my stopping distance has to be greater but people think that they can just fill my space for stopping and than stop or turn it's amazing that our company does'nt have more accidents with cars because of people doing stupid things like that. I know their a lot of tow trucks out there that must run in to things worse than this primarly because they live in bigger towns.

Sincerely,
DL

+++++++++++++++++++

From leon@hawaii.edu Thu Feb 18 17:45:18 1999
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 17:41:33 -1000
To: d@yebb.com

Subject: Re: road rage

Hi Dave, thanks for your message. Well, I think what you're saying is that we need to educate people better about how buses and big trucks operate from the trucker's point of view. I wonder if the Trucking Association or Union might take the initiative here to bring this information to the general public. Maybe a day in the year where you allow people to ride with you for an hour...

DrDriving

Interview with American Legion Magazine
on defensive driving and excessive government intervention.

Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 23:12:13 -1000
From: bd
To: DrDriving@DrDriving.org
Subject: defensive driving

That is some poor reasoning and only tells part of what's taught. Only by expecting other drivers to do it wrong can you be prepared to cope safely and smoothly with their actions. If they do surprise you its for the good and no allowances are necessary on your part and you have lost nothing. Not only have I driven 4million accident free miles, BUT accidents don't seem to happen around me. I think that's pretty amazing considering I have spent the majority of the last 27 years on the roads either driving a truck or teaching someone else to or teaching peoplke to drive cars. I maintain that a true defensive driver creates an island of safety around them.

I generally drive as fast as I think it is safe to go. This keeps you paying attention at all times to everything around you, trying to anticipate what can happen before it does and decide before hand what you will do, where your ":out" is before you need it. This may result in driving less than the posted speed limit, if that is what is safe. I haven't had a ticket I earned in over 20 years and only one I did not back in "83". This works, in all kind of vehicles in all kinds of traffic, with the proper driving skills, a courteous attitude and a desire to see no one die out there.

Ms. BD
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 13:01:39 -1000
From: Leon James DrDriving@DrDriving.org
To: bd
Subject: Re: not hardly

Thanks for your letter, Ms. DB. I appreciate it. I entirely agree with your idea of driving with alertness and compassion! That is my ideal too. I guess we have a little semantic disagreement about calling this "defensive" or something else. The reason "defensive" is not preferable is because it is close to "offensive" in the sense of creating suspicion in advance and a tendency to see other drivers as enemies. This is a disadvantage of the word and idea "defensive" as it has been used and practiced.

Also, defensive doesn't encourage mutual support and compassion. The compassion you said you added to it, is your own addition, it is not part of "defensive." I would prefer supportive driving as an idea and then part of it would relate to anticipation, which is a term you used. Maybe Anticipation Driving or omething like that. This is better than defensive because it lacks suspiciousness and hostility, and yet if focuses on what you said is critical: To be alert so you can anticipate so you can correct in time and avoid.

What do you think?

Leon James
DrDriving

+++++++++++++++++

DrDriving:
Can be as simple as changing our expectations of other drivers. I always taught my students to expect the other driver to always do the wrong thing, this act alone seems to usually prevent anger because one the driver is not surprised and scared by the close call that follows and unexpected maneuver, and anger usually follows fear. two it can become a challenge to anticipate their wrong actions and be prepared and therefore safe and unruffled. i am amazed that people still drive with the assumption that the other driver IS GOING TO DO WHAT THEY SHOULD, sure leave you flat footed when they don't .

Ms. DB
Professional truck driver since 1972 without a chargeable accident, and only the most minor non-preventable.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

news

12, February 1999
House Committee Holds Truck Safety Hearing
By Oliver B. Patton, Contributing Editor

Debate on the future of the Office of Motor Carriers opened yesterday with hearings before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The status of OMC, the office in the Federal Highway Administration that enforces truck safety rules, is part of a general examination of trucking safety that will unfold in congressional hearings and federal investigations in the coming months.

Rep. Frank Wolf, R-VA, is pushing for OMC to be moved from FHWA to the National Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates equipment safety. While Wolf and other representatives share concerns about OMC's performance as the truck safety regulator, the hearings also reflect a turf battle between House committees. With today's hearing and others to follow, the Transportation Committee asserted jurisdiction over the issue – before Wolf could do so in hearings before his panel, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on
Transportation, later this month.

original story continues here
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The 3 million mile man

Seattle trucker honored for safety record

Thursday, March 11, 1999

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF

George Voeller has spent more than 30 years in the fast lane, including the last four in Seattle's ever-more-vicious traffic. His advice? Patience.

"It only takes a second to get yourself killed," said Voeller, a Seattle trucker honored yesterday for driving more than 3 million accident-free miles.

Voeller was the guest of honor yesterday at the South Seattle Consolidated Freightways terminal, where he begins his daily, 12-hour roundtrip to Vancouver, B.C.

He became one of 113 of the company's 13,000 current drivers nationwide to reach the 3 million milestone.

He got a company-paid lunch, a plaque for his living room, a letter of commendation from the company and the right to drive a renovated company truck with his name and safety record painted on the cab.

original story continues here

DrDriving:
I was stopped at a red light in my home town when a trucker stopped behind me, hit my car and pushed me into the intersection. as I was turning around to see what had happened, he shifted gears and hit me again. then he came rushing to my window and started yelling. he said he hit me the second time because I wasn't going fast enough at the red light. he threatened me and said he would harm my family if I reported him to the police. then he wheat to his truck.

I thought he was coming back with a gun or knife but the police arrived just in time. he was not ticketed and was allowed to get back in his truck and drive away. I’m still receiving treatment for my injuries and have gone through therapy for post traumatic stress. my lawyer and I are about ready to settle this case but the trucking company doesn't want to offer enough to cover medical expenses. I'm looking for documentation on road rage that might help my case. also I hope to get a support group together for the survivors of road rage accidents.
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Keeping you safe, healthy, and on the road--Nurse Red : The "Truckers' Doc" archives
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 08:35:27 -1000
From: Doug Scott DScott@trucking.org

Subject: Re: using test with article

I was doing some research on the Internet for an article Transport Topics, a newspaper catering to the trucking industry, on road rage and came across your road rage tendency test. I would like to use it with the story.

In 1995, 376,000 large trucks (gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds) were involved in traffic crashes in the United States; 4,453 were involved in fatal crashes. A total of 4,903 people died (12 percent of all the traffic fatalities reported in 1995) and an additional 116,000 were injured in those crashes.

Large trucks accounted for 3 percent of all registered vehicles, 7 percent of total vehicle miles traveled, 8 percent of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes, and 3 percent of all vehicles involved in injury and property-damage-only crashes in 1995.

One out of nine traffic fatalities in 1995 resulted from a collision involving a large truck. Statistics from NHTSA

I first want to thank you for having this wonderful site of "Random Acts..." stories! Thanks! I have a story and then a "thank you"..

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

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

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

Kevin
mailto:kb@shianet.org
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By Roger Croteau Express-News Staff Writer

NEW BRAUNFELS — The death of an Indiana man killed on the shoulder of Interstate 35 Friday night resulted from what officials are calling a road rage incident. Dave Starr, 40, of Kendallville, Ind., was declared dead at the scene by Hays County Justice of the Peace Becky Sierra, who ordered an autopsy. Hays County Sheriff's Department officials were awaiting the autopsy results Monday, but expected blunt force trauma would be ruled.

San Marcos police received several calls at 9:50 p.m. Friday, reporting a fight along the side of the highway. San Marcos police and Hays County deputies responded and found a large construction company van beside the southbound lanes just south of the San Marcos city limits. Starr was on the ground, and three other men, all passengers from the van, stood nearby.

The men said Starr pulled the van to the side of the highway and two other vehicles followed the van off the road, said Allen Bridges, Hays County Sheriff's Department spokesman. A pickup with three or four men inside pulled in front of the van, and a car with three men inside pulled up behind the van, according to Bridges. He said it wasn't clear why Starr pulled to the side of the road. "The information I have is that the passengers were sleeping or trying to sleep in the van and the first thing they knew he was pulled over," Bridges said. "Obviously, something must have happened between them to cause him to pull over."

An altercation developed between the van passengers and the men from the other vehicles, Bridges said. "Everyone from the van had his hands full trying to protect themselves from being assaulted," Bridges said. "They knew Mr. Starr was being assaulted, but none of them saw it." Bridges said no knives or guns were used in the assault, but wouldn't say whether other weapons were used to beat Starr.

One of the van occupants, Jeffery Knight, 32, was treated and released at Central Texas Medical Center. The other two men from the van, Jamie Nitcher, 35, and Joshua Donahue, 33, were unhurt. All are from Indiana. They work for Total-Tower Service of Bloomington, Ind., and were on their way from Austin to San Antonio in a company vehicle.

Bridges said the department has received several calls from people who reported seeing the fight, but none of the tips has led to any suspects. The two other vehicles involved were a late-model red Chevrolet or GMC pickup and a 1980s or '90s two-door Chevrolet Cavalier.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 03:59:24 -1000 From: stm@dear.net
To: leon@hawaii.edu
Subject: trucking women

I wanted to let you know that I am now 30, but at 22 was a truck driver and owned a trucking business with my husband. We drove over 1.5 million miles in seven years and averaged 3 months off a year. I think I have 1 speeding ticket, no accidents.

I do speed. Worse than my husband, yet he has more tix than me. He also has never had an accident.

You had a long article on speeding. With my driving experience and having witnessed numerous deaths before me over the years, I have seen drivers flying pass me at over 100 miles and hour and thought," That person is going to die." Sure enough, a few miles later, they are.

At the same time, the worse problem today is the speed for trucks which is often 55, but cars can go as fast as 75. Now, this is a recipe for disaster. This is when speed kills. A car driving 75 mph, catches up quickly to a truck going 55, and .... I don't know who is in charge of making these laws, but the dmv book states that the safest situation is driving with the flow of traffic.

Well, this is probably not of interest to you now. I was looking up women truckers because my husband and I will be on a book tour promoting the advantages of a trucking career, and sharing tips on driving safely and getting dealing sharing the road with big trucks. If you have any more statistics on speed,etc. I would appreciate the info.

If you want for info regarding the matter, I have some sources for you.

Ire over rogue truckers leads to crackdown demand
Paul Mann
York residents are demanding an urgent crackdown on rogue truckers who detour around the Interstate and barrel through town at high speed in unsafe rigs. Many truckers are using Route 1 to dodge safety checks at the I-95 weigh station because they are driving with a high number of driver and vehicle infractions.

Sgt. Bruce Flanigan from the state police told a town meeting of concerned residents on Tuesday, Oct. 27, that the detour -- via the information center just south of the weigh station -- is such a favored dodge of truckers they have distributed maps of it to other truckers. And those truckers often represent the worst the industry has to offer because they have the most need to avoid police and safety checks.

"We're talking about illegal drivers, illegal logs, mechanized defects, you name it," said Flanigan. "We stopped a truck one day and the driver had a hand drawn map he got in Boston. He told us they were handing them out in Boston -- and he was a disqualified driver."

He added: "They're well organized, they communicate with each other on the radio and when the weigh station is open you can see them getting off the interstate onto Route 1. It's a ready-made escape route for them." When there are problems like back-ups or other police on Route 1, he said: "The word goes over the air and they pull into Howard's truck stop just across the state line and they wait us out."

The rest of the article here

(...)

Yearly, hundreds are killed in accidents that are directly caused by anger; thousands more are seriously injured. In England last year, 250,000 motorists were physically assaulted by other drivers. To my knowledge, no one has compiled a total of the roadside assaults in America, but the number must be astronomical. According to Dr. Leon James, professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii, everyone experiences moments of unreasoning anger while behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle. It's called road rage.

Action resulting from the momentary madness labeled road rage can be severe, or mild; it can range from a relatively innocuous upraised birdie finger to the insanity of slamming brakes and the sudden whipsawing of steering wheels.

(...)

THE CURE

Road rage is a habit acquired in childhood. American children are reared in a highly mobile culture that condones irate reactions to the normal stress of driving. Our children are not stupid: they notice that grownups act differently while behind the wheel of a car; that even their sweet, gentle grandma curses like a sailor when someone cuts her off or steals her parking space. By the time they get their own driver's license, adolescents have witnessed hundreds of instances of road rage. The road rage habit can be unlearned, but it takes more than conventional driver's education courses.

Not everyone who allows himself to be aroused to anger acts on it, thank God. Some keep it reined in. Or so they think. Returning to an earlier analogy, anger is a shark, and it devours its young. The residue of all those stress hormones that flooded the brain during the traffic backup remain active for hours, resulting in a continuing drop in energy levels. Which affects a driver's attention span. Which makes him more dangerous to himself and others several hours down the road.

As any medical doctor will tell you, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Consciously striving to increase your own tolerance for the foibles of others is the only cure for your own road rage. As my father often remarked, “Patience is a virtue, my son.”

original here at Expedite.com for Truckers

Dear DrDriving:
I just completed your road rage driver personality survey and as a professional truck driver of 21 years I have over a million miles accident free. I consider myself a courteous driver but with your survey I learned a lot about myself. As I know the proper way to behave on the highway's, I found myself experiencing some of the traits such as cussing to myself and getting mad but I haul about 8,000 gals. of gasoline, when I am loaded, so I would never do anything to put anybody in harms way.

I guess what I want to say is that your survey just gave me a major reality check. I will now keep check on my emotions and try harder to strive to be a better driver. Thank you for taking the time to put up your web site as it is very informative and I hope many more drivers take the time to do your survey.

In closing I would like to add a link to you web site to mine as I know you are probably very busy you can view my site at:
http://hometown.aol.com/jytrucker/index.html
Jim Young
Nikes Michigan

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thanks Jim Young! I visited your site--it's great! Please write again when you have additional observations on your driving emotions, especially about how to develop a positive spin on events. Positiveness protects you from stress and keeps you peaceful. Negativity puts you at risk, makes you sick, and produces dejection in life. Developing a supportive driving style and philosophy saves you from negativity. So I think truck drivers need to share with each other on how to accomplish this positivity behind the wheel.

Leon James
DrDriving

A Commercial Drivers License (CDL) is Required if you drive ANY of the following commercial vehicles for hire ANY place in the United States...
A vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 26,000 lbs.
A trailer with a manufacturer's GVWR of more than 10,000 lbs. when the GCWR exceeds 26,000 lbs.
A vehicle designed to carry 15 or more passengers (excluding the driver).
A vehicle of ANY size or type which requires hazardous materials placards.

To Be Eligible For A Commercial Drivers License (CDL) you must ...

• Take and pass the mandatory Hawaii CDL license examinations that apply to you.
  
• Be 21 years old (18 years old if ALL of your driving is within Hawaii and you do not transport hazardous materials or drive double or triple trailer rigs).
  
• Possess a valid medical certificate in accordance with MCSR regs. 49 CFR 391.41 - 391.49.
  
• Certify that you do not hold a driver license from more than one state and certify that your driver license is not currently suspended, revoked, or canceled in ANY state, nor subject to any of these actions.
  
• Surrender your current driver license.
  
• Provide proof of your identification.

Pay testing and licensing fees.
The above information is from the State of Hawaii. Original here

As a cautious driver, I typically trail several hundred feet behind traffic, to provide reaction time, in case of emergencies (18 wheel retreads, for example).

The driver of the above rig became anxious, and decided my lane was more promising, so he changed from rightmost lane to center lane, and begin closing in on me.

Under these conditions, I gradually slow down to let the driver know I don't respond to that kind of pressure, and drivers usually just move to another lane. Again, we were at the rear of this traffic block, and all the badgering in the world isn't going to get all 30 plus cars ahead of us to speed up. Where the heck does this driver think we are going to go?

Eventually I changed lanes to the left to get away from him. Suddenly, he rushed passed me, and begin merging into my lane. My wife shrieked, as I had only one way to go to keep from being hit, I took to the paved, yet rough shoulder of the road, with the guardrail speeding closely by, and braked as he passed, and then watched as he returned to his center lane. The weather was extremely clear, there is no way he could not see us.

Clearly, this guy did not like my driving.

Behind the 18 wheeler now, I had my wife write down everything we could see, as stated above. I then resumed my speed, and began passing him. As soon as I got NEXT to the cab, the driver AGAIN rapidly moved into my lane, attempting to push me onto the shoulder again. This time I sped up, to keep this dangerous man(?) behind me. For miles, my wife shook with fear, as she watched him again get closer and closer, from behind.

Finally, I speed up, navigating thru the block of traffic, and at the next exit, and got off the interstate, and watched as this maniac drove past. Is this the new age we've entered? Is this what you teach your drivers? Is this what us small guys are supposed to tolerate? Is delivery time so important that human life may be threatened? I'm sure this was not the first time such driving "skills" had been used by this careless driver. No, that wasn't careless, that was a direct threat.

We then returned to the highway, but not to our once pleasant drive. I have never experienced such malicious behavior from an 18 wheeler, and am now considering what actions may be taken to prevent some other person(s) from experiencing this clearly detrimental act. My wife and I believe we are blessed to be alive, today. I have no doubt if I had hit the guardrail at that speed, he would not have stopped to apologize. 80 miles an hour is no time to play games like this.

I am copying this letter to the Florida Highway Patrol, and to the ATA; American Trucking Association, and any other audience I can find.

Thank you for your time, and attempting to keep our highways safe.

"Taxi drivers are 60 times more likely than other workers to be murdered on the job," Secretary Herman said. "We can't control random violence, but better protection could save lives. I hope this information will spur drivers and their employers to take protective steps."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 510 drivers were murdered on the job between 1992-98. Taxi drivers are also victim to more violent assaults (184 per 1,000 workers) than any other occupation with the exception of police (306 per 1,000) and private security guards (218 per 1,000).

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration developed the fact sheet in consultation with taxi driver safety advocates, an industry trade association, and transportation regulators. Called "Risk Factors and Protective Measures for Taxi and Livery Drivers," the fact sheet lists 10 protective measures to help prevent injury to drivers and speed response time to those who need help. The measures include:

• automatic vehicle location or global positioning systems (GPS) to locate drivers in distress;
  
• caller ID to help trace location of fares;
  
• first-aid kits in every car for use in emergencies;
  
• in-car surveillance cameras; partitions or shields;
  
• protocol with police -- owners and police to track high-crime locations; radios to communicate in emergencies (e.g., with an "open mike switch");
  
• safety training for drivers;
  
• silent alarms;
  
• use of credit/debit cards ("cashless" fare systems) to discourage robberies.

original here

Dr. James,

Thank you for the preview. it is very interesting, needless to say, especially about the Ho Ching Ming Trail. There are serious problems with the trucking industry and you have touched on a major sore point but honestly there is quite a deal more and most of it stems from lack of (or none at all) government interaction with the industry. Both the Canadian and USA gov't have failed dramatically in assisting drivers, carriers and customers from getting a safe trucking industry. The rates we are working on are the same (or even lower) from 1982 rates. As we know, nothing else has stayed at these rates and needless to say the picture for new drivers is BLEAK and the shortage is growing every day (drivers are finding it more profitable being on welfare than in the drivers seat of a truck) As your article states, drivers are running illegal just to keep up with the "jones" and it isn't working. Another thought is that when the "baby boomer" drivers (age 40 to 50 at present) get ready to retire (in 10 years or less) there will be a HUGE shortage of professional drivers and needless to say, also a HUGE ROAD RAGE situation. People like yourself are one of the few hopes that the trucking industry will get the gov't (both Canada and the USA) to seriously look at what is happening and hopefully work on changing it (for the better?)

A good example of how ass backwards our gov't can be, last year when I emailed you I was working on getting a grant from our WCB to create a professional drivers look and prevention video on "Road Rage", I made it through all the gauntlets except for the last one where they required I have support from the provincial trucking association, well I don't because our local association has 230 members in BC and we have 10,081 carriers in BC and I am one who does not see them representing our drivers in the best interest and therefore being turned down for the video grant. I haven't stopped trying and I am still looking for a financial backer so I can do the video but times in trucking are not easy. I'm so adamant about trying to help the industry (trucking) I'm working on starting up my own trucking association and also a drug and alcohol consortium so professional drivers will have somebody on their side for help and training. All I can say,please keep up the good work as professional drivers want to get home tonight as well

thank you
MW
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date sent: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 16:07:26 -1000
From: Leon James leon@hawaii.edu
To: "MW <tcsgroup@direct.ca>

Subject: Re: info request

Mr. MW,

thanks for your message. I recall our correspondence from last year and I'm wondering what progress you are making. I'll be sure to let you know when the book will appear (around September 2000). You said you would be interested in the section of Trucking. I hope you checked my Trucking and

My book will have but one small section on Trucking. I'm pasting that section below so you could review it for me: What is it lacking or what other topics would you like to see covered? Check the Trucking site before responding, if you haven't yet. Thanks so much for your advice Mr. Williams! Please don not quote from this section until the book is out, but you may quote from my Trucking site, with appropriate reference.

Take care!
Leon James
DrDriving

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Trucking

In 1995, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the U.S., released a study on truck driver fatigue that contained alarming figures, prompting highway safety officials to declare driver fatigue as a top priority issue, along with aggressive driving. The study found that fatigue was the probable cause in 31% of truck crashes, making it a more significant problem than alcohol or drugs. Earlier studies by the NTSB found that truckers routinely violated hours-of-service rules and falsified log books to avoid getting caught. Traffic Sociologist Dr. J. Peter Rothe, author of The Trucker's World (London: Transaction Publishers, 1991.), spent hundreds of hours riding along with truckers on the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail between Seattle and Vancouver, so-called because some 18-wheelers are driven by inexperienced, untrained, non-English speaking, foreign drivers with fake licenses. So the legend goes among the army of truckers that move across the 49th parallel between Canada and the U.S. Rothe's sympathetic portrayal of the often difficult lives of truck drivers is moving, yet it points to the crucial importance of appropriate training and monitoring activities on the part of companies and government. Many truck drivers feel pressured to drive as many miles as possible, in as little time as possible to survive economically, leading them to break hours-of-service rules.

Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States have been working to harmonize truck safety standards in the areas of:

• truck driver hours-of-service regulations
• driver qualifications
• vehicle maintenance standards
• truck size and weight limits

Since these regulations differ from country to country, there is concern among U.S. officials that harmonization could lead to lower truck safety standards in the United States. The NTSB recommended that the FHWA change hours-of-service regulations so that drivers are given enough opportunity to get the sleep they need to avoid driving fatigued. A 1987 Motor Carrier Safety Survey determined that 28% of the drivers were on schedules that required drivers to speed or violate hours-of-service regulations (Regular Common Carrier Conference, Alexandria, VA, 1988).

Trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds account for a disproportionate share of highway deaths, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports in Fatality Facts 1994: "Although large trucks represent only 3% of all registered vehicles on the road, they were involved in over 25% of passenger vehicle occupant deaths in multiple-vehicle crashes." For instance, in 1997, more than 700 truck occupants and 4,600 passenger vehicle occupants died in crashes involving large trucks. The sobering fact to consider is that in 1997 one out of eight traffic fatalities resulted from a collision involving a large truck, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (Traffic Safety Facts 1997: Large Trucks).

The key issues for truck drivers and the industry remain

• providing adequate training for drivers
• avoiding overweight trucks
• monitoring hours-of-service

Studies have shown that there is a sharp increase in truck crash fatality rate with each extra ton on a truck. For instance, with all other factors being equal, a truck weighing about 80,000 pounds is more than twice as likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a truck weighing about 50,000 pounds. Because they have a higher center of gravity, heavier trucks are more likely to rollover, an alarming new concern of many truck fleet safety managers. Overloaded trucks tend to burn out their brakes on a downhill. In fact, one in four truck drivers with mountain driving experience report having lost their brakes at least once in their career, (Final Report, Vol. I, UMTRI, Ann Arbor, 1983). Unfortunately, brakes adapted for heavier trucks are more likely to lock up when a truck returns empty. This frequently leads to jackknife crashes (Final Report, Vol. I, UMTRI, Ann Arbor, 1983).

Public concern is also justified when considering the wear and tear heavy trucks make on public roads and infrastructure. It has been estimated that one 80,000-pound tractor semi-trailer does as much damage to the roads as 9,600 cars (Highway Research Board, AASHO Road Test, Special report 61-E, National Academy of Sciences, 1962). Most of the bridges in the U.S. were built before 1975 and were not designed to accommodate heavy trucks. It is estimated that 32% of America's bridges are currently substandard (Better Roads, 1994 Bridge Inventory, November 1994, p.28; Transtec, Impacts of Heavy Trucks on Bridge Investment, Task B Revised Report for FHWA, Austin, TX, 1993). Since the implementation of NAFTA in 1996, enforcement and the maintenance of safety regulatory standards have become a major concern in border states.

Research on driver fatigue conducted jointly by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation found that the number of hours behind the wheel is not a strong or consistent predictor of fatigue. The time of day when one is driving is more important than the length of the trip. The two organizations collaborated in producing Awake at the Wheel, a CD with four sets of 60 and 30 second psa's, designed to alert motorists to the warning signs of fatigue. Ear-catching spots focus on the revitalizing power of a short nap, being in-tune with your individual "internal" clock, and tips from a professional driver on how to stay alert.

The trucking industry has led efforts to help manage driver fatigue in our 24- hour society by

• providing more rest area parking spaces for trucks
• developing fatigue management training courses
• distributing literature to hundreds of thousands of drivers
• focusing research and awareness of our sleep habits and levels of alertness

TAKE INVENTORY EXERCISE FOR TRUCK DRIVERS

While some drivers are perfectly happy driving a truck, others act out their frustration and cynicism in the form of aggressive driving. Take a few moments to reflect on yourself as a truck driver by considering each of the following items, as they may apply to you. This list was supplied by Safety Managers whose job it is to train and supervise hundreds of truck drivers every year. These are the top 6 problems and concerns they have experienced with their truck drivers.

1.) Anonymity is still the biggest factor with all aggressive drivers. Professional drivers seem to forget that their company name and truck

number is all over the side of their vehicle.

Applies to me

2.) Because of their vehicle size, truckers have a greater feeling of superiority. This tends to increase some of their aggressive behavior.

Applies to me:

_____ regularly _____ sometimes _____ never

3.) Although their job often depends on their safe driving, the company they drive for often is the main target of litigation. This lessens the feeling of personal responsibility for some drivers.

Applies to me:

_____ regularly _____ sometimes _____ never

3.) Tailgating remains the number one sin of the professional driver and is the main cause of most at-fault accidents involving commercial vehicles. It is also the number one reason for motorists complaints. How much tailgating do you do?Applies to me:

_____ regularly _____ sometimes _____ never

5.) Professional drivers, because of their ability to operate an 18-wheeler, have a feeling of superiority. Some believe it their obligation to teach proper driving habits to automobiles through intimidation.Applies to me:

_____ regularly _____ sometimes _____ never

6.) Truck driving keeps individuals away from home for long periods of time, creating many personal challenges. They can be stressed and angry at home, at work, as well as on the highways. Often the personalities that we find common with aggressive drivers are the same personalities that we find with some truck drivers.Applies to me:

_____ regularly _____ sometimes _____ never