Posted on 06/25/2008 9:29:52 AM PDT by InvisibleChurch
Drivers who sport bumper and window stickers on their vehicles are more prone to road rage, say researchers at Colorado University.
The researchers have released a new study which discovered that motorists with personalized items on a vehicle are more likely to be aggressive drivers. Assessing the behavior of 500 drivers, they found that in the face of provocations such as being stuck in traffic, owners of cars covered with stickers and trinkets -- known as territory markers -- were more likely to act on their anger by flashing lights, tailgating and blocking other drivers.
Other major findings:
Drivers with at least one marker in or on their car were 15 percent more likely to retaliate when they felt their territory had been threatened. The more markers a car has, the more aggressively the person tends to drive when provoked. The specific content of the stickers -- be it "Grumpy old Git or "Baby on Board" -- did not make a difference in how aggressive the driver was. Drivers who do not personalize their cars get angry, too, but they do not act out their anger; instead, they fume and mentally call the other driver rude names, but then move on. Another study, from the University of Maryland, has discovered that people who get upset while driving also get worked up at children's sporting events. Researchers said an "ego defensiveness" comes into play, which is common to both road rage and touchline rage.
Source: Vikki Miller, Bumper Stickers Linked to Road Rage Drivers," The Telegraph, June 26, 2003.
For text:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/2168789/Bumper-stickers-linked-to-road-rage-drivers.html
For more on Social Issues:
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=28
Well, I would believe it. People who plaster their car with “save the whales”, “Impeach Bush”, “Bush lied”, and what not, tend to be very self righteous and feel a moral superiority about their views. And the most agressive of those in their views will be aggressive in other ways such as road rage. They think they are superior and that nobody else on the road should get in their way.
That reminds me of how Gov. Corzine of New Jersey was badly injured as his car was speeding down the expressway on his way to a seminar about the Don Imus “nappy headed hoes” controversy. He was in a big hurry so he could weigh in on that issue. As governor of New Jersey, there were no other problems that he had to deal with that were more important that weighing in about Don Imus that day.
The more stickers a car has, the more I want to see who's driving, espcially if it's still got a Kerry Edwards sticker on it.
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Disagree, some one with lots of stickers obviously wants to “get in your face” and seeks it out via all those bumper tickers. So there is a cause and effect here.
My favorite years ago:”I speed up for small game”
I swear Volkswagons are manufactured with Greenpeace bumper stickers.
Wasn’t it Savage who said “one bumper sticker means you are passionate; two bumper stickers means you are an activist; three means you have a mental condition.”?
I have never had anything so profound to say that I felt the need to stick it on my car.
Do license plate holders count? Saw this on one recently:
“GET IN, SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!!!”
Aw, man! Whatever happened to the good ol' days when you just peed on all four tires and then went peaceably about your day?
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HONK If You're Impatient |
I have 4 things attached to my car by magnets: A Second Amendment Sister sign on each front door, and two "Self defense is a basic human right" bumper stickers on the back--one on each side of the trunk door.
In over 50 years of driving, I've never been involved in a wreck, and I have gotten a total of 3 traffic tickets--all for speeding a bit above the speed limit (the last 2 in the same speed trap near Alexandria LA.)
Gee, I been missing out on experiencing this road rage stuff these people are talking about.
have you ever noticed that people don’t honk or mess with you as much if they see an NRA sticker on your car?
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