Truck Topics

Calm Down, Back Down and Slow Down

We've all seen cases like this on the television news:

- Salt Lake City, Utah - 75-year-old J. C. King became irritated with 41-year-old Larry Remm Jr. for honking at him for blocking traffic. King followed Remm when the younger man pulled off the road at which point King hurled his prescription bottle at Remm. King completed the attack by smashing Remm's knees with his (King's) '92 Mercury.

- Potomac, Maryland - Attorney and ex-state legislator Robin Ficker knocked the glasses off a pregnant woman after she had the temerity to ask him why he bumped her Jeep with his.

- Virginia - A dispute over a lane change on Virginia's George Washington Parkway was settled with a high-speed duel that ended when both drivers lost control and crossed the center line, killing two innocent motorists.

Road rage. 

Aggressive driving. 

These phrases have found their way into common-usage in the last few years and they have almost come to replace drunken driving as the face of villainy among U.S. drivers.  But how really big is the problem?

A recent major study by the American Automobile Association says that he rate of "aggressive driving” incidents - defined as events in which an angry or impatient driver tries to kill or injure another driver after a traffic dispute - has risen by 51 percent since 1990.  In those cases studied, 37 percent of offenders used firearms against other drivers, an additional 28 percent used other weapons, and 35 percent used their cars.

To put those numbers in perspective, according to a recent AAA repot, approximately 250,000 people have been killed in traffic since 1990. While the U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that two thirds of fatalities are at least partially caused by aggressive driving, the AAA study found only 218 that could be directly attributable to enraged drivers. Of the more than 20 million motorists injured, the survey identified 12,610 injuries attributable to aggressive driving.

While the study is the first American attempt to quantify aggressive driving, it is not rigorously scientific.  But researchers believe there is a growing trend of simple aggressive behavior - road rage - in which a driver reacts angrily to other drivers.

"Aggressive driving is now the most common way of driving," says Sandra Ball-Rokeach, who co directs the Media and Injury Prevention Program at the University of Southern California. "It's not just a few crazies--it's a subculture of driving."

The researchers tell us that in much of life, people feel they don't have full control of their destiny. But a car - unlike a career or a spouse - responds reliably to one's wishes. In cars, we have an increased (but false) sense of invulnerability. Other drivers become dehumanized, mere appendages to a competing machine.

"You have the illusion you're alone and master, dislocated from other drivers," says Dr. Leon James, professor of traffic psychology at the University of Hawaii.

Defining the problem
At this point, it's time for some definitions:
Aggressive driving is a traffic offense or combination of offenses such as following too closely, speeding, unsafe lane changes, failing to signal intent to change lanes, and other forms of negligent or inconsiderate driving.

The trigger for the aggressive driver is quite often traffic congestion coupled with an unrealistic schedule.  As a result, the aggressive driver generally commits multiple violations in an attempt to make up time.

Unfortunately, these actions put others drivers at risk. Rush hour crashes, which are frequently caused by aggressive drivers, are a major contributor to congestion and 10 percent of these rush hour crashes contribute to a second crash.

Road rage however, is a criminal offense and occurs when a traffic incident escalates into a far more serious situation.  A driver may become so angry over an aggressive driving incident (whether intentional or not) that he or she overreacts and retaliates with some type of violence.  

Ask any driver who earns his pay behind the wheel of a commercial truck about aggressive drivers in four-wheelers  and chances are he will readily relate his most recent road rage incident.  “It’s not an everyday occurrence, but you’ll probably deal with it at least a couple times a month,” says one Florida-based owner-operator.

“There have been people who came up the on-ramp, and we weren’t able to pull over for them," says one expedited straight truck driver.  "They drove on the shoulder, and then they got behind us, came around, cut in front of us and slammed on the brakes.”

For American truckers, coping with potential road rage (or simply aggressive driving) has become part of the job.

The causes 
For one thing, traffic is getting worse. Since 1987, the number of miles of roads has increased just 1 percent while the miles driven have shot up by 35 percent. According to a recent Federal Highway Administration study of 50 metropolitan areas, almost 70 percent of urban freeways today - as opposed to 55 percent in 1983 - are clogged during rush hour.
 
"There are simply more cars--and more behaviors--to deal with," says traffic psychologist James.

Driving is dangerous, often involving high speeds and heavy equipment. But according to James, it’s also a complex, demanding activity. All motorists make mistakes that scare and anger others, and that’s the crucial moment, because how those emotions are handled will lead either to peaceful coexistence or an enraged desire to get even.

As one OTR driver puts it, "If you’re a professional driver, you look out for those kinds of people just as much as you look out for yourself. That’s part of the job.”

Real life
Veteran expediter Rich Moore has over two million professional driving miles under his belt and he says he has seen his share of aggressive driving incidents, including some that border on the criminally negligent.

One aggressive driving incident that stands out his mind was when a female driver in a four-wheeler cut in front of his straight truck from a left lane and then slowed down. 

"It was during rush hour when this woman cuts in front of me and she hit her brakes hard.  I avoided hitting her, but she wasn't satisfied with that.  She continued to slow down and invited other four-wheelers to change lanes and get in front of her." 

I really wanted to show her the error of her ways," he says with a laugh, "but I have a little technique that I use when my blood starts boiling.  I simply say to myself, 'road rage',  and for some reason, it calms me down.  It seems to work because I've never retaliated yet!"

"You know, it’s not just four-wheelers (who engage in aggressive driving), “It’s other trucks, too. It's very common to have trucks come up (in the hammer lane), sit beside me and box me in,” he says.  "And, you have those big trucks who get about a foot off your rear bumper and hang there."  

“It’s getting to the point where trucks and four-wheelers are one and the same.”

Stress
All drivers acknowledge that one factor of road rage is stress, and trucking has its share.

With a working day that includes dealing abrasive and demanding dispatchers, strict pickup and delivery times, piloting a truck through crowded cities while facing traffic and weather, it's surprising that there are not more incidents of big truck road rage reported. 

And, as one driver puts it, "At the end of the day you can’t find a place to park, can’t get a shower and can’t get a decent meal!"

One answer
Traffic psychologist James says the “emotionally intelligent” driver will understand traffic and human nature. He will expect mistakes or rude behavior, and he will drive accordingly: defensively, as if to protect himself.

Drive cautiously, “and accommodate others’ movements,” James says. When other drivers do dumb or rude things, the “EI” driver naturally gets scared or angry, but he does not use these emotions as catalysts to revenge and rage. He avoids engaging in power struggles with other drivers, does not see errors or rudeness as provocation, and avoids challenges.

If he makes an error and upsets another driver, he remains calm, seeks to pacify hurt feelings, and uses his EI to actually defend and explain away the other driver’s actions.

He retains self control: does not let his fear and anger run away or use them to “fan the flames of righteous indignation” and “resists the temptation to ‘teach the other driver a lesson.’”In short, he says to "Calm down, back down and slow down."

It may take what is seemingly a superhuman force of will to not teach the offending driver the "rules of the road", but you'll avoid one of those incidents listed at the beginning of this article or worse, becoming a statistic cited in articles like this.