Road Rage

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Term Paper Title	Road Rage
# of Words	922
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.69

Road Rage

It seems like you can't drive more than two miles today ithout
encountering road rage. Some say that road rage is a national epidemic more
dangerous than drunk driving. Others find it to be a perpetual but
insignificant problem. Needless to say, almost everyone agrees that road
rage is an actual attitude that can be observed on most American roadways.
But what is road rage? Is it some kind of medical condition? A certain habit
or behavior? Or maybe it's an actual traffic accident?
Road rage has a short but interesting history. The term "road rage" first
appeared in England in 1988 and gained popularity rapidly. Mentioned only
about two dozen times in 1994, there was an extensive increase when the term
was mentioned 400 times the following year. In 1996 the term appeared 1,600
times and has been steadily growing since then. The public has grasped the
term and considers it to be one of the foremost national driving concerns.
In a recent AAA poll 44% of motorists ranked road rage as the biggest threat
on the road while drunk driving ranked second with 31%. Road rage is now an
everyday household term heard on the evening news and read in newspapers
daily (Bowles, Scott, and Paul Overberg).
So what is this new-sprung expression that has received so much attention
in recent years? Numerous people have tried to define the term and add some
clarity to it's meaning. Some have tried to determine it's psychological
significance and apply it to certain people. Others have defined the term
according to traffic violations--speeding, running stoplights and
recklessness. In addition, others have tried to classify it according to
poor driving conduct such as obscene gestures and unkind words. Each of
these definitions are valid interpretations of road rage's meaning
(Overberg).
Many psychologists believe road rage to be an aggressive behavior disorder.
Arnold Nerenberg, a psychologist in Whittier, California, is one of the most
prevalent experts on road rage in America. Nerenberg believes that road rage
is a "mental disorder and social disease," which involves evolution. He
states that throughout history mankind has had a competitive spirit and
tries to dominate others. Nerenberg defines road rage as " basically a
maladaptive reaction to an identifiable psycho-social stressor that
interferes
with social functioning," or, more simply put, "one driver expressing anger
at another driver ... at least twice a year." John Larson, a psychi...

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