Road Rage: Is It Fueled by Gas Fuel? A Case For the Electric Car
Road rage is a common occurrence in our traffic jammed roads.In fact,this form of raging is more common than we think. In a survey completed by more than 500 drivers, 90% reported that within the past year, they had been either a victim of road vendetta or had witnessed it. Who Are these Road Ragers? They can be any one of us because everyone is susceptible to stress and anger. All of us experience moments when we vent our anger through verbal snarls,obscene gestures, honking the car or cutting off drivers. However, people with aggressive tendencies are likely to be road ragers more often than others. More recently, researchers have found that those prone to road rage may show one or more of the following characteristics: aggression, high stress levels, anti-social tendencies,low impulse control and frustration tolerance. Most of us have experienced the anger of a virulent driver. And most of us usually would attribute that to a form of personality disorder, like Intermittent Explosive Disorder or IED. A new study, published in the Journal BMC Physiology, suggests, however, that anger in drivers is not caused by personality or character defect, but by something more insidious in our environment - toxic exhaust fumes. Cairo University researcher Amal Kinawy examined the effect of gasoline fumes on 3 groups of male rats. One group was exposed to lead gas fumes, another to unleaded gas fumes anda third to clean air. Then these rats were placed under intense study to see if any neurological and physiological changes can be detected. What Dr. Kinawy discovered were the following: a. When compared with the clean air group, rats exposed to either lead or unleaded gas fumes showed increased aggressive behavior. This included more time spent in belligerent postures and increased numbers of actual attacks. b. Even rats`brains examined after the experiment revealed several major differences among the three groups. Rats exposed to the unleaded fuels showed definite changes in the brain cortex regions. As well,those exposed to both kinds of fuels induced "significant fluctuations in neurotransmitters in the hypothalmus, hippocampus and cerebellum." Kinawy concludes that heightened aggression in the human population like road rage may well be fueled by chronic exposure to exhaust fumes. Exhaust fumes have been associated with a whole host of health issues. Studies show that diesel exhaust is far more damaging to our health than plant-based diesel. An Australian study has found that diesel fuel kills human airway cells or throat cells which lead to respiratory disorders such as bronchitis and asthma as well as cancer. In another study, engine exhaust fumes were linked to excess pneumonia deaths across England. Researchers calculated the impact of pollution on death rates between 1996 and 2004 by compiling data on atmospheric emissions, published causes of death and expected causes of death for several local jurisdictions all across England. The results suggest a strong link between exposure to pollutants and deaths. Researchers have also found that one hour of smelling exhaust fumes induces a stress response in the brain's activity. Ten volunteers were placed in a room filled with either clean air or diesel fumes, the concentration of which was set at the highest level that the general population would experience at work, in the garage or on the road. After 30 minutes, the diesel exhaust began to affect the brain activity of the volunteers. The brain displayed a stress response which indicates that information processing in the brain has changed. Researchers suggest that nanoparticles from the exhaust could be producing oxidative stress which has been implicated in brain diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. These results also support the link between gas fumes and road rage. With new research emphasizing the problematic health issues associated with exhaust fuels, we should look at the elecrtic car as more than a viable alternative.
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