Patience is a virtue when driving
Campus Times
March 6, 1998
During recent years, there have been many concerns over the fear of
freeway shootings, otherwise known as road rage. This extreme form of "aggressive
driving" refers to an angry motorist attempting to intentionally injure
or kill another driver because of a traffic dispute.
There is more concern about aggressive drivers than about drunk drivers.
Freeways are becoming an unsafe area for California motorists now.
Just recently, a woman was shot by someone in another vehicle while
on the Orange County freeway. She pulled over moments later and called 911
"to report that she was bleeding from a head wound," said California
Highway Patrol Officer Karen Bowen, "and she told us there was some
kind of an altercation with occupants of the other vehicle."
Usually, road rage is started when someone is being tailgated, cuts
in front of another car, flashes headlights or hogs the passing lane. It
is the reaction you make toward poor driving habits or the traffic disturbance
itself that can begin a commotion.
The best way to avoid any confrontation with another driver is to not
respond to provocation. Avoid eye contact and change lanes without tapping
on your brake first, it may jeopardize the safety of the person behind you.
Any action one initiates may cause the other driver to start following
you. If that situation happens, one should drive directly to a police or
fire station, not home.
Police in Washington, D.C., have begun a campaign called "Smooth
Operator," which features an emergency number motorists with cell phones
can call to report aggressive drivers.
Since the rate of California freeway shootings have gone up in recent
years, it would be a good idea for the state to invest in a solution, like
Washington D.C.'s, in order for drivers to feel safe when on the road.
We all share feelings that are very aggressive, impatient and egotistic.
Usually those feelings take lead to rage during situations that may cost
one his or her life.
The best thing to do is not be an aggressive driver. Talk to oneself
before one loses his or her temper when in traffic. That is sometimes the
best way to calm yourself down when found in a jam.
Most people drive to compete against other drivers, rather than get
to their destination. It's like a NASCAR contest on the freeway between
motorists.
Think of all the vehicles that are involved in that silly competition.
According to U.S. News
Online in Los Angeles, Interstate 5 Freeway at the intersection of 1-10
and state routes 60 and 101 sees 566,000 vehicles daily. It's hard to believe
that half of those motorists are probably guilty of road rage.
I have to admit that I have become angry at reckless drivers who have
cut me off. My reaction is like most people who drive California freeways,
frustrated to the point where I say or do something I should not do. We
all have done it some time in our life. It's time to calm ourselves down
in order to prevent any distractions on freeways and city streets.
More than 12,610 injures and 218 deaths have been sited, and many more
go unreported. The AAA Foundation for Traffic
Safety states that there is a 50 percent increase in deaths and injures
due to aggressive driving. Maybe people do not pay attention to the statistics.
Drivers would rather play the game of road rage than take the right route
and drive more safely.
Summer Herndon, a junior photojournalism major, is photography editor
of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at herndons@ulv.edu.
