This site is dedicated to the memory of Timothy Neal Thompson who was killed by an inattentive driver. Tim was only 22 and the driver was only 19. You can read Tim's story and more about how he was killed at the following link. Maxine on Driver Safety
Maxine on Driver Safety
“I can’t use the cell phone in the car.
I have to keep my hands free for making gestures.”
Surely we are all familiar with the little old lady known as Maxine. If not check out this site http://www.gideonseniors1959.com/wisdom_of_maxine.htm As funny as Maxine is aggressive driving, often called “road rage” is a growing problem in our nation. Hand gestures such as “flipping-the-bird” can often trigger road rage. Some may even consider such gestures as a sign of road rage.
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According to a recent AAA study aggressive driving has increased by 51% since 1991. Nearly 90% of motorists have experience an incident involving aggressive driving within the past year.
On April 17th, 1996 two men recklessly settled a dispute over a lane change on Virginia’s George Washington Parkway which resulted in the death of one of the men along with two innocent people not involved with the dispute. The surviving driver was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation reports in a 1999 study that two-thirds of the fatalities on U.S. roads are attributable to aggressive driving.
Tailgating, exceeding speed limits, running red lights, and switching lanes with no warning are all considered aggressive driving. One report attributes 6 million deaths a year to these poor driver behaviors.
I admit I have been guilty of “hand gestures” after someone has cut me off. In hindsight this wasn’t the best way to handle the situation. People have been known to shoot people for less.
My next article will be about ways to avoid conflict on the road.
Please leave a comment sharing your “road-rage” experiences – either something you did or something someone did to you.
