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Fleet RoadRageous

Roadrageous™   is an 8 hour classroom course.  It features our exclusive  "Edu-tainment" style that combines skits, games, videos, student-instructor interaction, student-student interaction and oh yes, a little straight instruction to make the time go by quickly and the lessons stick.  The course is not designed to teach people how to drive, it is designed to change their behavior and decision making process behind the wheel.

Roadrageous Course Objectives

  1. Identification of aggressive driving behaviors in oneself and others.

  2. Development of a Personal Driving Conscience.

  3. Education about potential consequences of aggressive driving.  Eliminating harmful, negative driving attitudes and developing and strengthening positive driving attitudes.

  4. Prevention of involvement in aggressive driving "Road incidents".

  5. Intervention in self-destructive behavioral patterns specific to aggressive driving. Identifying with the needs of the entire driving community

  6. Understand the basic facts and solutions to impaired driving (DUI, Anger, Advancing Age, Emotions, Inexperience, Fatigue, Illegal Drugs, Medications).

  7. Motivation for positive attitudinal and behavioral change, as well as lifelong driver self-improvement.

More....

Trucking brings daily food and commodities. We love that. And yet, truckers have an image problem. People often resent sharing the road with large trucks. Truckers feel their needs are misunderstood and they're conscious of an image problem. DrDriving wants to help improve relations between 4-wheelers and 18-wheelers. Here you'll find articles, surveys, links, advice, news, analyses, networking, transportation, discussion board.

We need truckers

From Sassy's Truck Pages

by Brigette Lorraine

"If the public would just take a few minutes to sit down and listen to us and hear our sides, they'd see we are not all bad, and that we pretty much all have allot in common. That the truck driver is not the enemy. They need to stop listening to all the negative that is being said about the truck driver through media, press and other sources."

"I have personally seen enough discrimination and slander towards truck drivers to last me a life time. I have seen them taken advantage of and used more then I care to. I feel it's time and long over due to educate people about trucking and all that is involved. It's time to put a stop Highway Robbery, discrimination, Slander, Abuse (by everyone including our own government), Harassment and all the Truck/Trucker Bashing! and above all to remove this fear people have of truck drivers."

"If people had to experience for one week what "Truck Drivers" experience every single day they would appreciate and understand the people we call "Truck Drivers". I will cover a lot of ground on these pages about the truck driver, trucking industry and what his or her family cope with. What it is like to drive day after day on our highways. It is my hope to get the attention of the American Public. To help them understand what they do not know... what they do not have a clue about."

"Feel free to fill out the comment form which you will find on these pages. Share your stories and thoughts with me. I will include them on these pages to share with others with your permission. WARNING! It's allot of writing and story telling in here of things I've seen and witnessed myself. So happy reading! And I would also very much like to hear from those people of four wheelers (cars) who would like to share their stories as well. After all if we share our thoughts and see it from both sides maybe we can unite and get along on the highways. Wouldn't that be great?

My own opinion "The Trucker is still the Highway Hero" not the villain as many would like to think."

Trucker Perspective

 The author of this page is a Semi truck driver.  Advice is given to all non semi truck drivers.  The author, A. Cummins, Basically wants everyone to realize that is important not to follow too close behind semi's and to be courteous to them.  He gives his view on how we can help them.  Driving a "Big Rig" is a very dangerous occupation and non truck drivers don't realize how hard it really is.

The Truck Safety Page

This is a site aimed towards Semi Truck Drivers.  In it you will find many tips on, "How to avoid getting killed in your big rig."  There are many dangerous situations that may arise while driving a semi.  First of all, 55% of all semi driver fatalities occur in rollover accidents.  And many of these fatalities can be avoided, Up to 2/3!, with the tips provided.  I feel that this site is very thorough and well written.  I have friends that drive semis and I only hope that they'll never get into a situation that they will have to use these tips, but if they do, at least they'll be a little more prepared for it.

Truck Safety

This article gives safety advice to the drivers of semi trucks.  It covers various topics: Anti lock brakes, Cab Safety, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations, Hazardous Materials Transportation, Truck Conspicuity and Lighting, Truck Size and Weight Limits, Truck Tires, and Truck Underride/Override Protection.

Truck Safety is very important.  I feel that with the amount of accidents involving semi trucks is too high.  Many times the truck is the major cause of the accident.  There are so many times that I have avoided those pieces of re-capped tires on the freeways.  My cousin wasn't as fortunate.  A tire from a semi blew up on the side of him and hit his car.  Why, is it legal to use these tires?  Every day I see these pieces of tire on the road.  I feel that it should be banned from being used.  It may prevent many accidents from happening.

Anti lock Braking Systems (ABS)

The requirement of anti lock brakes on semi trucks should cause a major decline in accidents.  Many accidents that occur are a result of skidding and/or jack-knifing.  This is caused by the locking of brakes.  On March 8th, 1995 the U.S. Department of Transportation passed a law that required all medium and heavy trucks to have anti lock brakes.  The Requirements or the new regulation include:

  • ABS on the front axles and at least one rear axle of tractors, trucks and buses;

  • Independent wheel control on at least one rear axle of tractors, trucks and buses;

  • Separate tractor and trailer ABS malfunction lights in tractor cabs and no manual override switch will be allowed that can turn off ABS;

  • Separate ABS power supply to avoid voltage drops that can result in the loss of ABS on second and third trailers in multi-trailer combinations; and

  • ABS equipment performance checks.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that 320-560 lives will be saved each year.

Personally I feel that ABS is a great idea, however, I wonder why it isn't required for all tractor and trailers, trucks and buses.  Perhaps, the Makakilo accident (mentioned above) could have been avoided.

Senate Vote to Ban Large Trucks Nationwide

On March 11, 1998 a nationwide freeze on large double and triple trailer trucks, but allowed then to operate on the inter states in the states of Maine and New Hampshire.  It seems strange that there is a nationwide freeze, but I still see double trailer trucks driving around.  It's true that the double trailer rigs are very dangerous and perhaps unnecessary.  I don't think that there is anything big enough to need a double, yet alone, a triple trailer truck.

more here

 

Tips for Truckers from DrDriving -- How to deal with anger

by Dr. Leon James

Driving psychology has discovered that the driver behind the wheel has to manage three aspects of the self-the driver's feelings, the driver's thinking, and the driver's sensory-motor actions. These three systems of the self must coordinate and act together or else the driver loses control in a situation. The feeling system includes the driver's attitudes, needs, and motivation. The thinking system includes the driver's knowledge, memory, and reasoning capacity. The sensory-motor system includes the driver's sensory input and motor output, and all of the driver's actions. When everything goes well the driver has full control over the three systems of the self. What disturbs this balance?

Let's consider an example. You're driving along and all goes well. Your threefold self is coordinating properly. Your feeling system is held steady by your motivation. You're motivated to get to your destination without unnecessary delays and you bring into play your attitudes of caution and concentration. Your thinking system cooperates with your motivation. You keep in mind the rules of the road, you follow the procedures you've been taught, and you correctly anticipate the moves of other vehicles. Your sensory-motor system coordinates what you see and hear, and executes the necessary motions with your hands, legs, head, and body.

All of a sudden a four-wheeler passes you in the left lane and is speeding up to get to an exit just ahead. You say to yourself he should have waited behind you to take the exit and not try to pass at this point. You see the car turn on its indicator to get back into the right lane. You are suddenly seized with a feeling of annoyance. Your feeling system is quickly heating up with intense emotions of rage and condemnation. Your thinking system floods with thoughts like "What an idiot. Etc." Your sensory-motor system responds by holding the speed steady. And so you're now in a new situation. It's no longer a normal situation. An incident is happening. What are you going to do next? You have a choice of two ways to react to the situation, one dangerous, the other safe .

The dangerous mode is to tie together in your mind your angry feeling with prejudiced thinking. The result is high risk behavior and a short-lived adrenalin high. The other option is lay aside the prejudiced thinking and reason it out in a fair-minded way. Instead of anger you now feel zeal and compassion. Zeal is an intense positive feeling focused on coping rather than retaliating. Anger is an intense negative feeling focused on retaliating and punishing rather than coping with a difficult situation. Anger ties itself to prejudiced thinking that serves to justify your aggressiveness, while zeal ties itself to fair-minded thinking that serves to cope with the situation. Coping is behavior that is safe and protective of everyone's welfare. Thus it has compassion within it.

DrDriving Tips:

1. First acknowledge that you need to train your emotions and thoughts behind the wheel even if you have an excellent record as a driver.

2. Become a witness to your driving style and habits. On different trips focus on one particular issue. For example: When do I get impatient? When do I get angry? What are my thoughts when I get angry-are they prejudiced or fair-minded? What are my weak points? What errors do I make? Keep a diary or log book of notes so you can review it from time to time. Another method that works well is a tape recorder you can turn on and speak your thoughts out loud. When you listen to it later you'll discover many things about your personality as a driver.

3. When you find yourself cussing against other drivers, or thinking nasty thoughts about them, don't let it stand. Remind yourself that being angry is useless and venting your anger is harmful to your health. In addition, it sets you up for more cussing and more anger, and at some point you feel yourself out of control making a move that is risky and scary, and gets you into trouble.

Safety Advice

Stress-free, safe, and friendly driving. How do we get to it? First, we resist blaming others and their shortcomings. Second, we examine how we ourselves contribute to the stress and hostility. Third, and finally, we do the opposite. Result: reduced stress, greater safety, more civility or mutual support..

Problem

"Why should I resist blaming idiots who endanger my life and their own because they're too stupid to be aware of what's going on?"

This attitude problem has gotten thousands of drivers killed last year, and again as many this year. Hundreds of thousands of crashes involving truckers every year are caused by this attitude problem.

Solution

Make yourself face this: getting angry is stress producing. Who is making you angry? That driver you call "idiot"? No. Wrong theory. You are making yourself angry over that driver's behavior or mentality. Therefore: It is you who is pumping up the stress by mentally churning up your emotions through the venting you're doing. Venting your anger means feeling indignant at the other driver, and wanting the other driver to know that you're displeased, mad, shocked, or scared. You can tell yourself this: it's worth giving up venting so that you can reduce your stress. Medical research shows that the stress from venting weakens your body's resistance to getting sick.

Giving up venting is not easy, even after you decide you want to. One trick I recommend is this:

ACT THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU FEEL LIKE

Smile and the whole highway smiles with you!

Try this and you will be convinced that it works. Your driving stress will be reduced if you don't vent your anger. By not venting, you discover alternative ways of handling driving situations. You're happier, safer, and others are more happy with you!

For more on this topic consult this book:  Leon James, Ph.D. and Diane Nahl, Ph.D. Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2000)  
Selections available here 

See also the RoadRageous Video Course used by professional drivers, law enforcement, and the military

United States Army Forces Command

Freedom's Guradian

FORSCOM News Service

FORSCOM Selects American Institute For Safety Campaign

American Institute for Public Safety News Release

The U.S. Army has selected the American Institute for Public Safety’s innovative interactive programs to help limit loss of life from automotive crashes involving soldiers and their families while operating Privately Owned Vehicles.

The American Institute for Public Safety (AIPS), based in North Miami, Fla., signed a contract in mid-June with the Army’s Forces Command, headquartered at Fort McPherson, Ga.

“The Army is making a step change to save lives,” said Chris O. Huffman, president of AIPS. “The leading cause of death for soldiers is not in combat with the enemy. It’s when they drive in their privately owned vehicle.”

The Army’s safe driving campaign will operate under the “Combat Aggressive Driving” brand name. The campaign that will be built on use of AIPS’ aggressive driver course, called “RoadRageousTM.”

RoadRageous is the nation’s first comprehensive course on aggressive driving. Presented in eight one-hour segments, the course was developed by AIPS in conjunction with three leading experts on aggressive driving, Dr. Leon James and Dr. Diane Nahl, both of the University of Hawaii, and Dr. Arnold Nerenberg, a Ph.D. psychologist in Southern California known as “America’s road rage therapist."

James and Nerenberg have testified before Congress on aggressive driving and road rage, now ranked by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as the  leading concern among drivers today. In addition, Nerenberg has taught numerous seminars for the California Office of Traffic Safety and has appeared on major television network newscasts as the recognized expert on aggressive driving and road rage.

The Army campaign will be launched at Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; Fort Carson, Colo.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Lewis, Wash.; Fort Polk, La., and Fort Stewart, Ga. All three versions of the course will be utilized for Military Police and local law enforcement, general adult education and education for teens.

Huffman said the “Combat Aggressive Driving” program is more than just educational courses. AIPS will coordinate instructor training, public awareness campaigns, and outreach to communities and state and local governments to insure that principles of non-harmful driving are communicated to soldiers, families, and civilians at key Army posts where the “Combat Aggressive Driving” program will be used.

“After extensive research, the Army selected AIPS because we’re more than a course provider,” Huffman said. “The Army program we designed is an all-embracing campaign that features education, public awareness, community integration with state and local initiatives and even websites to deal with an overall approach to traffic safety. This approach will also include defensive driving, driving under the influence, seat belt usage, child safety seats, distracted driving, cell phone safety and other related auto safety topics.

“This builds on AIPS’ success delivering leading-edge driver safety programs across the nation. Our programs feature new and innovative ways to teach responsible driving to motorists with a proactive approach to behavior modification,” Huffman said.

see original here

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From: http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/hsis/pubs/04085/index.htm

An Examination of Fault, Unsafe Driving Acts, and Total Harm in Car-Truck Collisions

FHWA-HRT-04-085   PDF Version (166 kb)

Table of Contents

Table 1. Experts' ranking of criticality of UDAs based on danger and frequency
(from Stuster(3))
RANK UNSAFE DRIVING ACT
1 Driving inattentively (e.g., reading, talking on the phone, fatigue-induced)
2 Merging improperly into traffic, causing a truck to maneuver or brake quickly
3 Failure to stop for a stop sign or light (also, early or late through a signal)
4 Failure to slow down in a construction zone
5 Unsafe speed (e.g., approaching too fast from the rear/misjudging truck's speed)
6 Following too closely
7 Failure to slow down in response to environmental conditions (e.g., fog, rain, smoke, bright sun)
8 Changing lanes abruptly in front of a truck
9 Driving in the "no zones" (left rear quarter, right front quarter, and directly behind)
10 Unsafe turning, primarily turning with insufficient headway
11 Unsafe passing, primarily passing with insufficient headway
12 Pulling into traffic from roadside in front of truck without accelerating sufficiently
13 Driving while impaired by alcohol or other drug
14 Changing lanes in front of a truck, then braking (for traffic, obstacle, toll gate, etc.)
15 Unsafe crossing, primarily crossing traffic with insufficient headway
16 Driving left of center into opposing traffic
17 Failure to permit a truck to merge
18 Failure to discern that the trailer of a maneuvering truck is blocking the roadway
19 Nearly striking the front or rear of a truck or trailer while changing lanes
20 Maneuvering to the right of a truck that is making a right turn (the "right-turn squeeze")
21 Operating at dawn or dusk without headlights
22 Crossing a lane line near the side of a truck or trailer while passing
23 Driving between large trucks
24 Nearly striking the rear of a truck or trailer that is stopped or moving slowing in traffic
25 Nearly striking an unattended or parked truck at roadside
26 Abandoning vehicle in travel lane or impeding traffic
Table 2. Fault for truck and car drivers by crash type
(North Carolina car-truck crashes, 1994–97)
Crash Type Truck
At Fault		 Car
At Fault		 Both
At Fault		 Neither
At Fault		 Total
Rear-end slow 2,127
(50.7%)		 1,722
(41.0%)		 258
(6.1%)		 92
(2.2%)		 4,199
Rear-end turn 203
(51.5%)		 142
(36.0%)		 42
(10.7%)		 7
(1.8%)		 394
Left turn—both same roadway 646
(45.4%)		 549
(38.6%)		 200
(14.1%)		 28
(2.0%)		 1,423
Left turn—crossing traffic 413
(42.9%)		 466
(48.4%)		 67
(7.0%)		 16
(1.7%)		 962
Right turn—both same roadway 330
(43.1%)		 272
(35.5%)		 142
(18.5%)		 22
(2.9%)		 766
Right turn—crossing traffic 135
(36.2%)		 203
(54.4%)		 27
(7.2%)		 8
(2.1%)		 373
Head-on 50
(22.5%)		 158
(71.2%)		 9
(4.1%)		 5
(2.3%)		 222
Sideswipe 1,813
(51.1%)		 1,246
(35.1%)		 380
(10.7%)		 109
(3.1%)		 3,548
Angle 1,371
(39.3%)		 1,690
(48.5%)		 276
(7.9%)		 150
(4.3%)		 3,487
Backing 725
(81.5%)		 86
(9.7%)		 52
(5.8%)		 27
(3.0%)		 890
Total 7,813
(48.0%)		 6,534
(40.2%)		 1,453
(8.9%)		 464
(2.9%)		 16,264
Table 3. Crash totals, percentages, and rankings for UDAs where GES data were sufficient
Unsafe Driving Acts Percent of Total Car-Truck Crashes Percent of Serious or Fatal Crashes Combined GES Rank Expert Ranking
(Stuster, 1999)
Original Adjusted*
Judgement Problems
Failure to stop for a stop sign or signal
0.9
20.0
Tie 4
3
2
Driving while impaired by alcohol or other drug
1.7
19.2
Tie 14
14
9
Maneuvering to the right of a truck that is making a right turn (the “right-turn squeeze”)
3.0
3.1
12
20
13
Nearly striking the rear of a truck or trailer that is stopped or moving slowly in traffic
5.4
8.9
Tie 4
24
15
Nearly striking an unattended or parked truck at roadside
0.0
9.9
Tie 14
25
16
Speed-Related Problems
Failure to slow down in a construction zone
0.0
0.0
17
4
3
Unsafe speed
5.2
14.5
Tie 1
5
4
Failure to slow down in response to environmental conditions
2.3
8.3
9
7
5
Right-of-Way or Headway-Related Problems
Unsafe turning, primarily turning with insufficient headway
4.3
10.5
7
10
Tie 7
Unsafe passing, primarily passing with insufficient headway
0.9
13.5
8
10
Tie 7
Driving left of center or into opposing traffic
4.8
17.0
Tie 1
16
11
Crossing a lane line near the side of a truck or trailer while passing
0.5
12.1
Tie 10
22
14
Unsafe crossing, primarily crossing traffic with insufficient headway
 
1.8
20.0
3
15
10
Lane Change or Lane Position Problems
Merging improperly into traffic, causing a truck to maneuver or brake quickly
0.1
9.0
13
2
1
Changing lanes abruptly in front of a truck
4.4
2.4
Tie 10
8
6
Nearly striking the front or rear of a truck or trailer while changing lanes
0.4
5.4
16
19
12
Miscellaneous
Abandoning vehicle in travel lane/ impeding traffic
0.6
3.3
Tie 14
26
17

* Relative rankings for these 17 UDAs based on original Stuster rankings.

The above Tables plus their explanations will be found at:
 http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/hsis/pubs/04085/index.htm

Truckers

Cross Border Truck Safety Inspection Program
Hours of service regulations

Your web site looks interesting. I own a small company that contracts with companies for driver awareness/defensive driving training. Keep up the good work.  Thanks for writing! Feel free to use whatever materials help you out in your training program against aggressive drivers. I'm particularly interested to know if you try the QDC idea (Quality Driving Circles) with some of your drivers.

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

 

Road Rage is not about the other guy!


 

 


 

 

 

 

In 1999, 475,000 large trucks (gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds) were involved in traffic crashes in the United States; 4,898 were involved in fatal crashes. A total of 5,362 people died (13 percent of all the traffic fatalities reported in 1999) and an additional 142,000 were injured in those crashes.

Large trucks accounted for 3 percent of all registered vehicles, 7 percent of total vehicle miles traveled, 9 percent of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes, and 4 percent of all vehicles involved in injury and property-damage-only crashes in 1998 (1999 registered vehicle and vehicle miles traveled data not available).

One out of eight traffic fatalities in 1999 resulted from a collision involving a large truck.  (NHTSA – U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Study

PRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=ragingman.jpg (21979 bytes)"

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).

Tips for Truckers from DrDriving

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

How to deal with anger

Driving psychology has discovered that the driver behind the wheel has to manage three aspects of the self-the driver's feelings, the driver's thinking, and the driver's sensory-motor actions. These three systems of the self must coordinate and act together or else the driver loses control in a situation. The feeling system includes the driver's attitudes, needs, and motivation. The thinking system includes the driver's knowledge, memory, and reasoning capacity. The sensory-motor system includes the driver's sensory input and motor output, and all of the driver's actions. When everything goes well the driver has full control over the three systems of the self. What disturbs this balance?

Let's consider an example. You're driving along and all goes well. Your threefold self is coordinating properly. Your feeling system is held steady by your motivation. You're motivated to get to your destination without unnecessary delays and you bring into play your attitudes of caution and concentration. Your thinking system cooperates with your motivation. You keep in mind the rules of the road, you follow the procedures you've been taught, and you correctly anticipate the moves of other vehicles. Your sensory-motor system coordinates what you see and hear, and executes the necessary motions with your hands, legs, head, and body.

All of a sudden a four-wheeler passes you in the left lane and is speeding up to get to an exit just ahead. You say to yourself he should have waited behind you to take the exit and not try to pass at this point. You see the car turn on its indicator to get back into the right lane. You are suddenly seized with a feeling of annoyance. Your feeling system is quickly heating up with intense emotions of rage and condemnation. Your thinking system floods with thoughts like "What an idiot. Etc." Your sensory-motor system responds by holding the speed steady. And so you're now in a new situation. It's no longer a normal situation. An incident is happening. What are you going to do next? You have a choice of two ways to react to the situation, one dangerous, the other safe .

The dangerous mode is to tie together in your mind your angry feeling with prejudiced thinking. The result is high risk behavior and a short-lived adrenalin high. The other option is lay aside the prejudiced thinking and reason it out in a fair-minded way. Instead of anger you now feel zeal and compassion. Zeal is an intense positive feeling focused on coping rather retaliating. Anger is an intense negative feeling focused on retaliating and punishing rather than coping with a difficult situation. Anger ties itself to prejudiced thinking that serves to justify your aggressiveness, while zeal ties itself to fair-minded thinking that serves to cope with the situation. Coping is behavior that is safe and protective of everyone's welfare. Thus it has compassion within it.

DrDriving Tips: 1. First acknowledge that you need to train your emotions and thoughts behind the wheel even if you have an excellent record as a driver. 2. Become a witness to your driving style and habits. On different trips focus on one particular issue. For example: When do I get impatient? When do I get angry? What are my thoughts when I get angry-are they prejudiced or fair-minded? What are my weak points? What errors do I make? Keep a diary or log book of notes so you can review it from time to time. Another method that works well is a tape recorder you can turn on and speak your thoughts out loud. When you listen to it later you'll discover many things about your personality as a driver. 3. When you find yourself cussing against other drivers, or thinking nasty thoughts about them, don't let it stand. Remind yourself that being angry is useless and venting your anger is harmful to your health. In addition, it sets you up for more cussing and more anger, and at some point you feel yourself out of control making a move that is risky and scary, and gets you into trouble.

For more on this topic consult this book:

Leon James, Ph.D. and Diane Nahl, Ph.D. Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare (Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2000) ISBN 1-57392-846-1

As a SWD Trasportation Driver what can I do when confronted by road rage from others:

1.        Do not stop, continue driving to your next destination. Contact Cedar Hills and your supervisor via radio for instructions.

2.        If the other driver is driving erratically and appears to be a danger to you or others, ask for police assistance.  Give your exact location, your direction of travel, description of vehile, its direction of travel and license number if available.

3.        If the other driver approaches you while you are stopped (at a stop light, etc.) do not get out of your vehicle.  Contact Cedar Hills and ask for police assistance.

4.        Do not become fuel for the fire.  You might be “in the right”, but “in the right” is not as important as safe and unharmed.

 

 

 

 

 

Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 16:50:23 -1000
From: Gary Bricken gbricken@txdirect.net
To: DrDriving@DrDriving.org
Subject: article for truck magazine

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

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 oppositional driving will get you into trouble and make your life on the road miserable.
read more here

Another angle of interest might be to discuss exercises drivers can do such as the Threestep Program you can find here. 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**

Try this exercise:   Review the contrasts between anti-social and civilized and explain the difference in each example.  Show how they differ in terms of the focus.

NEGATIVE & ANTI-SOCIAL POSITIVE & CIVILIZED
REPTILIAN DRIVING

FOCUS IS ON BLAMING OTHERS AND RETALIATING

 CORTICAL
DRIVING

FOCUS IS ON
SELF AND HOW TO COPE BETTER
They're jerks! I'm feeling very impatient today!
How can they do this to me! I'm scared and angry!
They make me so mad when they do this! I make myself so mad when they do this.
I just want him to know how I feel! It's not worth it.
They better stay out of my way! I need to recognize that everybody has to get to their destination.
How can they be so stupid talking on the phone while driving! I need to be extra careful around these drivers.

Take Inventory

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?   Here is my e-mail button.
Leon James ("DrDriving")

Red-Light Cameras Coming Soon to Fresno

(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

Facts from government agencies

In 1999, 475,000 large trucks (gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds) were involved in traffic crashes in the United States; 4,898 were involved in fatal crashes. A total of 5,362 people died (13 percent of all the traffic fatalities reported in 1999) and an additional 142,000 were injured in those crashes. Large trucks accounted for 3 percent of all registered vehicles, 7 percent of total vehicle miles traveled, 9 percent of all vehicles involved in fatal crashes, and 4 percent of all vehicles involved in injury and property-damage-only crashes in 1998 (1999 registered vehicle and vehicle miles traveled data not available). One out of eight traffic fatalities in 1999 resulted from a collision involving a large truck.

Aggressive Driving and Fuel Consumption

"The highest fuel consumption was monitored in the city, with a cold engine and an aggressive driver. A difference of 30 to 40% in the fuel consumption was observed between aggressive and normal driving behaviour.

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."


BRAND NEW FEDERAL AGENCY AFFECTING TRUCK DRIVERS


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."

 


National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Study
 
  • 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

 

In California...

Driver License Handbook Table of Contents

 

Sharing the Road with Other Vehicles


Did you know that?

there are seven violations that can cause a driver to have his
license immediately suspended even on a first offense, including
drunken-driving, violating railroad crossing rules and using a
commercial vehicle to distribute drugs.

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

see article here

 

Trucker Buddy

"Trucker Buddy International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping educate and mentor schoolchildren via a pen pal relationship between professional truck drivers and children in grades 2-8. Trucker Buddy matches classes of students with professional truck drivers. Every week drivers share news about their travels with their class. Once a month, students write letters to their drivers. Students' skills in reading, writing, geography, mathematics, social studies, and history are enhanced and learning is fun. Since 1992, Trucker Buddy has helped educate over a million schoolchildren and introduced them to caring, compassionate men and women, professional truck drivers."

 

Dave in Seattle: Good Samaritan Trucker of the Month

From Weakster@wa.freei.net
Sun Feb 14 18:05:29 1999
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 01:14:09 -1000
To: DrDriving@DrDriving.org

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.


Did you know?

"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)."

 

September 8, 2000

Freeway Fury
Road rage moves from middle finger to trigger finger

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.

(...)

 

NEW PHONE CODE COULD HELP DRIVERS

The federal government has paved the way for drivers to get information about traffic jams, road conditions and construction by dialing a single three digit code.

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.

 

Research Reports on Trucks

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

 

Truckers: We Don't Need More Sleep Criticize

Federal Plan to Require 12 Hours Off Road

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


Stress + Hostility = Violence

Road Rage Is a Highway Hazard on the Rise

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 relatio