New Study: Bumper Stickers Link to Road Rage
 

Bumper stickers reveal link to road rage

Car adornments betray a territorial mindset.


Matt Kaplan



http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080613/images/rr4.jpgA blitz of bumper stickers could mean an assault for more than just your eyes.Visions of America, LLC / Alamy


Bumper stickers such as “Make Love, Not War” and “More Trees, Less Bush” speak volumes about a vehicle's driver — but maybe not in the way they might hope. People who customize their cars with stickers and other adornments are more prone to road rage than other people, according to researchers in Colorado.


The number of road rage incidents — bouts of aggressive driving such as speeding or tailgating, or confrontations with other motorists — has risen dramatically in recent years. In 1995 the American Automobile Association found 12,000 injuries and 200 deaths were linked to US road rage. In 2008, the numbers are estimated to exceed 25,000 injuries and 370 deaths, and many more road rage incidents, especially those that do not lead to injury, go unrecorded. (more)


continued at: http://www.nature.com/news/2008/0806....2008.889.html