A study by Dr. David Lewis from The University of
Sussex, who coined the term " road rage," found that motorists face a hidden
mental health impact from the stresses of driving, while bus travel can produce
long-term health benefits. For the experiment, the heart rate
and EDR (Electro-Dermal Response)of 30 commuters was measured when taking
similar journeys by car and bus．The findings reveal a vast difference in EDR, a
form of biophysical measurement that indicates mental stress. The EDR results
suggested that taking the car produced significantly more stress than taking the
bus, which was 33% less stressful. "EDR can be a hidden
stress—it’s not as visible as intensely nervous driving or audible as road rage.
This type of stress can have long-term physiological and emotional
implications," said Dr.Lewis, who finds three key factors that increase the
stresses of driving a car. Driving in heavy traffic—especially
against a deadline—requires a high level of attention. This requires the brain
to work especially hard processing a myriad of incoming information and making,
often split-second, decisions． Congestion and delays can raise
blood pressure and physical tension which may manifest itself as " road rage,
"having serious long-term health consequences and causing drivers sometimes to
take reckless and foolish decisions. Driving in congested traffic now outweighs
any previous benefits car-driving once gave． A sense of
frustration of" wasting one’s life" behind the wheel of the car, unable to do
anything more productive than casual conversations or listening to the radio. On
a bus it is possible to fill the time more profitably by doing some work or
reading. He also notes that highly trained, professional bus
drivers are skilled in negotiating the challenges of the road,and the relief of
trusting someone else to be in charge of the journey is a key part of what makes
taking the bus less stressful. He encourages people to get out
of their cars and on to the bus for trips where it makes sense—such as shopping
in town or heading to a restaurant—so that you don’t need to battle traffic or
find parking．Switching simple journeys can help achieve the goal of taking a
billion Car journeys off the road．All it will take is everyone shifting around a
trip a month. The term“road rage”probably refers to______.
A.the sudden heart attack that drivers suffer from
B.the explosive outbursts of anger shown by motorists
C.traffic accidents arising from bad-tempered drivers
D.the panic caused by traffic congestions