There was so much hostility, impatience, and irrationality. I didn't know myself as a driver. He then had hundreds of his university students carry tape recorders while driving. In listening to their tapes, he discovered that every driver has moments of rage behind the wheel. Road rage had become mainstream behavior, not just one exhibited by extreme people.
Road rage is a habit acquired in childhood.
Children are reared in a car culture that condones irate behavior as part of the normal wear and tear of driving, Dr. James explained. He cautioned that it will take an entire generation to overcome the road rage habit. Undaunted, he is working to find solutions to road rage. However, that will take more than conventional drivers education to overcome, he stated. Currently, Dr. James's students are investigating how American society transmits the culture of aggressiveness behind the wheel.