MAAD (CONTINUED)

WRECK-LESS DRIVING©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist


MAAD (CONTINUED)
KINGSPORT, TN: Last week we discussed some of columnist-attorney Shelburne Ferguson’s suggestions for avoiding being caught up in a road rage mess. Aggressive drivers seek some time or position advantage over others but do not intend to do harm - though they do sometimes cause severe crashes.

Those with road rage intend to “get even” for some perceived slight, frequently by imposing physical harm - though they may be injured also. Police authorities claim, however, that road rage is only about 1% of the incidents. Also, some traffic experts say that aggression is a growing problem only in our minds, that in reality it hardly exists. That we have been sensitized to it by excessive talk and see it now in every minor move made by a nearby motorist. Could that be? Is this column guilty, too?

Here are some more of Ferguson’s thoughts (paraphrased) on keeping our cool:
If stopped, leave sufficient space between autos to pull off-line and head for safety.
Have your auto serviced and in good condition before making the trip.
Keep the vehicle’s windows clean to reduce your stress over poor vision.
Give yourself enough time to allow for delays. Know alternate routes.
Plan for frequent leg stretching breaks, especially on long trips.
Do not stress yourself by using the cell phone while driving
Do not throw obscene gestures at other motorists.
Tailgating can be interpreted as aggression. Avoid giving that impression.
Know that a few seconds saved in an aggressive maneuver may lead to grief.
Forgive the driver whose single action offends you. Perhaps it was not intentional.
Remember, you can only control yourself. Trying to control others may escalate from aggressive driving to deadly road rage.

All of the above is just common sense and courtesy. One Florida traffic expert coined the acronym FIDO. “Forget it, drive on”. Excellent and safe advice.
GHD193 all rights reserved /

MAAD (part one)

WRECK-LESS DRIVING©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist

MAAD (part one)
KINGSPORT, TN: Attorney and columnist Shelburne Ferguson has cloned a new auto safety organization which he has named “ Motorists Against Aggressive Drivers”. While MAAD is a lets pretend group he does offer many very practical suggestions for avoiding becoming a road rage statistic. Notice that we have switched from “aggressive driving” to “road rage”. Strictly speaking the two are quite different. Yet they blend together in such a way that the line between them is fuzzy.

Aggressive driving is the act of taking advantage of each opportunity (or making the opportunity) to get ahead of what we believe are drivers that impede our desire to move faster or in a certain direction. In doing so the aggressive driver endangers other persons on the highway but has no intention of causing them harm. Yet crashes do happen when aggression gets out of bounds or the other driver becomes aggressive also to protect his/her own roadway advantage.

Road rage is an escalation of the aggression where one or more of the drivers becomes angry enough to attempt to do damage to the supposed offending vehicle and or its driver. It can start with a simple obscene gesture and move rapidly beyond a game of bumper cars to an actual shoot-out. It is then murder and not just an accidental death.

Here are a few of the ideas Ferguson provides for avoiding the deadly end game:
Stifle that natural reaction to be macho.
Avoid eye contact as it suggests confrontation.
Drive with the doors and windows locked.
If aggressed, head for a safe location where other people are present.
Use the cell telephone to call for help.
Use the horn and flashing lights to discourage someone from entering your auto.
Do not brandish a knife, gun, club or other weapon. .It may be taken away and used on you.
(Continued next time)
GHD192 all rights reserved

THIS CAFE KILLS

WRECK-LESS DRIVING©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist

THIS CAFE KILLS
WASHINGTON, DC: Our Federal Government is a killer! In the past 30 years more than 50,000 persons have died in vehicle crashes who would have survived had they been in larger, heavier autos. The reason they were in lighter cars is that almost 30 years ago Congress passed a fuel saving law, Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), which forces auto manufacturers to produce more of the fuel saving small cars and trucks.

The U.S. House of Representatives had voted to continue the law “as is” rather than allow the unelected bureaucrats to tighten the rules even more. Tighter CAFE rules would mean many more small vehicles and more highway deaths. That’s what this anti-SUV publicity by the do-gooders is all about. They tell us they want to save lives but the Federal Government’s own records of these past 30 years foretell what even more small cars and trucks would cause. More persons die each year because of the US. Government CAFE rules than die under the higher Interstate speed rules allowed some years ago..

Originally the CAFE rules were intended to reduce petroleum use at a time when the oil rich nations were putting us through a price squeeze. OPEC is again squeezing us now and the activists and politicians are demanding an even stronger CAFE to conserve oil and to reduce air pollution. .

Perhaps the entire CAFÉ law needs looking at rather than just some well intentioned but potentially disastrous tinkering with it.
GHD191 all rights reserved