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** In January, a 36-year-old man was arrested and another man was injured when a driver got out of his car armed with a golf club and smashed the rear and front windows of a 21-year-old man's car. He used the shaft of the golf club to jab the man in the neck before driving off. He turned himself into police soon after and was arrested for first-degree criminal property damage and unlawful entry into a car.

** In another incident in January, a man yelled at a car that was speeding near a supermarket. The driver turned the car around and beat up the 41-year-old man. Police booked him for second-degree assault.

** In March, a 28-year-old woman was arrested in a road rage case. She followed a woman who had cut her off to a 7-Eleven store and punched her in the mouth. The woman was booked for unlawful entry into a motor vehicle, a felony.

** In April, a motorist was arrested in Waikiki for punching another driver after being involved in a traffic incident that started with an argument. The attacker, 30, got out of his car, reached in the other driver's car and punched the man, 48, in the face. He was booked for unlawful entry into a motor vehicle and second-degree terroristic threatening.

** In July, a man and a woman travelling in a car with four children, ages 4 through 11, started quarreling and their car struck a highway barrier. In the heat of the argument, the woman grabbed the steering wheel veering toward an off-ramp. Then the driver turned the wheel back and lost control. The car crossed three lanes before crashing into the median. The hatchback popped open and the 4-year old flew out, falling 30 feet to the street below.

** In September, a man threatened a 25-year-old man with his car in a bout of road rage. The victim was cut off by the suspect's car and words were exchanged, which prompted him to follow the victim. He rammed the victim's car from behind and sped away. The victim followed the attacker's car who then made a U-turn and attempted to hit the victim's car head on, forcing the car to run into a parked vehicle.

** In October, an out-of-control van rammed two cars, including one filled with four children, and barreled into a lei stand, pinning its 74-year-old owner against a refrigerator. The occupants of the van got into a confrontation when one of the van’s passengers was stabbed by someone in the other car after he yelled at the driver to slow down. The van sped away and rammed into a parked red sports car with the four children inside.

** And in January of this year, a 36-year-old man was arrested after a 19-year-old man told police the other driver cut him off abruptly. This caused him to collide with the car. The other driver then punched in the window of the 19-year old, showering him with glass that cut his face and arms. The 36-year-old man was arrested for first-degree criminal property damage.

Leon James and Diane Nahl, authors of the new book "Road Rage and Aggressive Driving: Steering Clear of Highway Warfare," warn parents to protect their children from picking up the road rage habit as they ride with their parents and absorb their hostile attitudes. When kids start driving, years of exposure to aggressive driving automatically comes out in unconscious habits that put young drivers at great risk. Driving fatalities are the main cause of death among 16 to 20-year olds. Last year 41,000 people died in traffic collisions and 6 million suffered major injuries in automobile crashes. Experts estimate that the majority of these crashes could be avoided if drivers stopped their aggressive ways.

Aggressive driving habits are so ingrained that most people aren't aware. Surveys reported by the authors show that 80 percent of drivers complain about the aggressive driving of others but only 30 percent admit to driving aggressively. Their road rage book describes a Threestep Program people can use to shrink this "awareness gap" and achieve control over their traffic emotions. The authors define aggressive driving as the desire to impose one's own level of risk on others and trying to force others to drive according to their own standards. Road rage is a state of anger leading to aggressive behavior in words, gestures, assault or battery. They present a variety of road rage types including Jekyll-Hyde, passive aggressive, constant complainer, verbal attacker, rushing maniac, vigilante and scofflaw. End of chapter checklists help readers assess their risk for road rage.

The driver's prime directive is to remain in control of the vehicle, the self and the situation. In a zero-tolerance society, people have an attitude and a sense of entitlement that destroys harmony and emphasizes retaliation. This is a quick formula for loss of control since you don't know how the driver you flipped off will react, whether to ignore you or pursue you. It's about choices. We can choose to practice civility and aloha or its opposite. By restoring a sense of community on highways and becoming supportive drivers we can reduce the daily commute stress that has become a health hazard to everyone.

The two experts trace the history of road rage to 19th century England, where "furious driving" laws were passed to control horse drawn carriages barreling through town on Saturday nights after drivers left taverns in a drunken state. Since 1981, England has passed tough road rage laws that land motorists in jail who yell or threaten other drivers. This year in the U.S. tough new aggressive driving bills are being considered in 22 States, including Hawaii. Several new laws raise the penalty for aggressive driving to a felony and give police the right to impound offending vehicles. The federal government supports anti-aggressive driving initiatives by police departments throughout the country.

For free information on road rage please visit the authors' Web site:http://www.DrDriving.org