Direction (1 - 7): Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions. |
With the advent of the interstate highway system, in combination with the construction of many thousands of smaller roads that allows people to reach nearly any destination in relatively short periods of time, society has begun mass-migrating yet again. Large swaths of formerly urban populations are now moving further away from cities into rapidly expanding suburban areas, in a process called urban sprawl, where driving to virtually any destination is a necessity. The unfortunate truth of city driving is that congestion and 'stop-and-go' traffic are inevitabilities. |
Traffic congestion occurs because the available capacity cannot serve the desired demand on a portion of the roadway at a particular time, leading to traffic problems that are no longer minor, occasional in conveniences, but rather inevitabilities, and along with these issues, health problems related to them have arisen. |
One mental health issue that is of particular cause for concern in transportation and health is road rage, largely because it is viewed as a typical human response to various traffic problems, frequently overlooked as being less dangerous than it actually is, and allowed to continue as a result, despite evidence indicating that it truly is worthy of concern. |
Since 2006, road rage has been officially classified as a medical condition of the mental health variety, called intermittent explosive disorder. This mental health issue, which is directly connected to driving should be considered seriously as a potential road hazard and a danger to the efficient, effective, and safe operation of our transportation system. |
The concept of annoyed, angry, aggressive travelers is something that has, in all likelihood, existed for as long as road travel alongside other travelers has been a part of life, even prior to the introduction of motor vehicles as a societal norm. This problem has, of course, been severely exacerbated through the decades as more and more people have taken ownership of vehicles and the once-dirt roads and meadows of days gone by have evolved into the complex transportation system upon which we rely today. |
With the growing transportation system, increasing congestion that is unlikely to disappear in the foreseeable future has become commonplace and, along with it, more drivers have become increasingly more frustrated with their daily commutes. This has led to a greater amount of driver stress, annoyance, and anger, and road rage has, as a result, became a gradually more frequent occurrence on the road, creating an environment that is arguably more dangerous to drivers than ever before. |
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A research conducted included demographic groups that were chosen to compare against average driving anger, given various different problematic driving scenarios. The age groups to which the survey respondents belong was also an important demographic to compare due to linkages between road rage, aggressive driving, and vehicular accidents. As seen average anger ratings fell into 50% to 70% norm for all age groups, with all age groups except one averaging anger ratings below 60%. |
Fatal car crashes were lowest among drivers younger than 20 years old, and increased for drivers between ages 20 and 24, finally peaking among drivers aged 25 to 34, and then dropping off for the subsequent two age groups. |
Anger ratings, on the other hand, follow a very different path whereby average anger potential peaked twice, among drivers younger than 20, and among drivers ages 35 to 44. It appears, based on this information, that, while driving anger and road rage are associated with driving fatalities, age does not seem to significantly influence this relationship. |
According to the passage, one of the reasons why transportation and health is related is