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Road Rage Linked To Automobile Bumper Stickers

Posted by kdawson on from the jesus-loves-you-now-back-off dept.

Ponca City, We Love You sends news of a study by Colorado State University psychologist William Szlemko that recorded whether people had added seat covers, bumper stickers, special paint jobs, stereos, or plastic dashboard toys to their cars. Szlemko found a link between road rage and the number of personalized items on or in people's vehicles. "The number of territory markers predicted road rage better than vehicle value, condition, or any of the things that we normally associate with aggressive driving,' says Szlemko. What's more, only the number of bumper stickers, and not their content, predicted road rage... Szlemko suggests that this territoriality may encourage road rage because drivers are simultaneously in a private space (their car) and a public one (the road). 'We think they are forgetting that the public road is not theirs, and are exhibiting territorial behavior that normally would only be acceptable in personal space,' the researcher says.

6 of 1,065 comments (clear)

  1. Not hard by smittyoneeach · · Score: 5, Funny

    This problem's not hard,
    And for societal win,
    To irresponsible retard:
    A safe, simple Schwinn
    Burma Shave

    --
    Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
  2. No stickers in the UK by Psiren · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here in the UK you rarely see bumper stickers, yet road rage is not exactly rare. So I don't really see the correlation. Having said that, whenever I see the Jesus fish on the back of a car, I do want to run it off the road on general principle. But maybe that's just me.

    1. Re:No stickers in the UK by aproposofwhat · · Score: 5, Funny
      It's not the fish, it's the driving style.

      They pull out in front of you, drive at <speed limit> - 5 mph, and wonder why you're driving up their sanctimonious arse honking and flashing!

      Bastards, the lot of them.

      And they always double park on a Sunday when they get their weekly dose of self-flagellation.

      Did Jesus say 'Pick up thy bed and drive'? I think not :P

      --
      One swallow does not a fellatrix make
  3. Very helpful by Dan+East · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is very helpful information. Now I'll know which vehicles my wife should keep the gun trained on.

    --
    Better known as 318230.
  4. Re:in other news by chooks · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think I saw that phrase on a bumper sticker....

    --
    -- The Genesis project? What's that?
  5. Re:in other news by evilandi · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm going to get a bumper sticker that says "get the fuck out of my way, asshole!" Why? Do you spend a lot of your time driving in reverse gear?

    --
    Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com