Road Rage: The Scourge Of America'S Roadways
Uploaded by Admin on Jan 22, 1999
Topic: Road Rage
General Purpose: To convince
Specific Purpose: To convince the audience to combat "road rage" by increasing driver awareness
Thesis Statement: "Road rage" caused by aggressive driving tendencies is a growing epidemic affecting today's roadways, but there is a solution.
Ethos: Include myself in my statements.
Pathos: Audience should feel horrified at the consequences of road rage.
Logos: Cite statistics and research resources.
Introduction
I. How many of you have ever been in a motor vehicle? Did you know that "motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among Americans 1-37 years old." With the largest % being our age group. (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
II. Many traffic accidents could have been easily prevented if not for the angry menace called road rage. Road rage caused by aggressive driving tendencies is a growing epidemic affecting today's roadways, but there is a solution.
Transition 1: As you can see road rage is a serious problem that could potentially affect us all. But many of us have different ideas of the scope of road rage.
Body
I. You can better combat "road rage" by understanding what it is...
A. Road rage or aggressive driving is defined as behavior behind the wheel in which furious drivers lose their temper and engage in risk-taking behavior or attempt to injure or kill another driver or pedestrian over minor traffic disputes.
(Dr. Leon James, Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii, further defines road rage by breaking it down into three types)
1. Verbal Road Rage is composed of behaviors such as yelling, swearing, gesturing, honking, and insulting.
2. Quiet Road Rage includes complaining, rushing, competing, and resisting.
3. Epic Road Rage includes cutting off, blocking, chasing, fighting, and shooting.
B. You all are thinking that we've all done some of those things, but no one really gets hurt. You can be sure that's exactly what Tracie Alfieri and Narkey Terry also thought.
1. According to a June 2, Newsweek article, Tracie Alfieri became enraged by the manner in which Rene Andrews pulled into her lane. Alfieri tried to pass Andrews on the right then cut in front and hit the brakes causing Andrews to swerve into a stopped tractor resulting in the loss of Andrews' 6 month old unborn child. Tracie Alfieri was convicted this May of vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison. (Newsweek)
2. In the most commonly cited incident of road rage, which ended in three deaths: Narkey Terry and Billy Canipe became involved in...