Staff Writer

Paige Wilson

Bumper stickers are colorful designs that can express interest or views or even give another driver a chuckle. However in recent years the bumper sticker has become uncontrollable. That is to say that there have been rather weird bumper stickers are making their way on the back of many of our vehicles.

                The first bumper sticker appeared right before World War II, although it was not a sticker but a tag that hung from wires and attached to the back of a car. The wire was eventually replaced with an adhesive back and thus the bumper sticker was born.

                The bumper sticker has been use to express religious and political views, but there are a few stickers that have appeared to be quite skeptical. Earlier this year, I saw a bumper sticker that was a picture of the iPod apple.

 I realize that Mac products are very popular but I don’t understand how these can express a view or even an interest. Unless it is that you want to show everyone how addicted you are to your Mac product.

                There are other stickers that are questionable. This sticker, appeals more to moms rather than students. This sticker is the stick figure family. Why do you put a picture of a stick figure family?

 They express the perfect family with everyone loving each other and smiling when in the real world there are very few families that could fit this description.  I am not saying all families are sad and sulking but that sticker portrays the perfect or ideal family and no one or family is ever perfect.

The stickers themselves have not been the only weird thing but it’s the actual affect they have on people that make them controversial. People who show their individuality through bumper stickers often take part in road rage. Colorado State University social psychologist, William Szlemko, found that aggressive driving is linked to the number of stickers a person has on their car, no matter what is being expressed. He says this idea is linked to the idea of territoriality. The more individualized the car, the more the person views the public roads as their own.  In studies they have shown that people who have bumper stickers or an excessive amount are proven to have road rage.

Whether the sticker says “My child is on the Honor roll” or “Stop Global Warming”, their consequences of road rage are the same.

Road rage doesn’t just include the occasional honk or yell but some can lead to severe accidents. People have very strong opinions and emotions can cause people to do wild things.

The whole concept of bumper stickers is out of control.  People put loads of stickers just to cover their car and not really believe in the comments they are applying.

For example peace signs, numerous cars put a peace sign on the back of a car. However, very few people actually put it on their car for the meaning but only because it is a trend.

It seems that the bumper sticker has lost its meaning. They don’t express opinions, interest or bring awareness but trends and random ideals. For the bumper stickers that do follow the definition can cause extreme freak outs and become a danger to the roads. Can the bumper sticker be saved from becoming a trend instead of a meaning or being a safe way to express an opinion without being a threat to the roads? Or are they doomed to cause more problems than they are trying to stop.