A safety unit was launched yesterday to combat road rage by employing the same techniques used in training astronauts.
Strathclyde Police has teamed up with aerospace expert Dr Gordon Sharp to educate drivers on how to keep their cool in fraught situations.
''It doesn't matter if you are landing on the moon or driving across the Kingston Bridge, the principle is exactly the same,'' he said. ''The driver will have exactly the same requirement of sound judgement and rapid decision making.''
The Traffic Education and Support Team is being launched to help reduce the number of deaths and injuries on the roads.
Last year, Strathclyde Police traffic department dealt with 117 deaths, almost twice the 59 murders handled by colleagues in CID over the same period.
Although the death toll was the lowest in the 23-year history of the force, the Test unit will be used to make further improvements.
The new unit will use a mix of targeting accident blackspots with a closely linked high-profile publicity and education campaign.
Officers have already used a Test-style approach to educate ''born-again bikers'' about the dangers of handling modern high-powered motorcycles.
The next package to be targeted by the Test unit will be aimed at the attitude of drivers to avoid aggression and road rage incidents.
Dr Sharp said: ''We have looked at training police drivers and advanced drivers and now we are looking to extend this scheme to ordinary drivers.
''Strathclyde Police will be entering into this project to teach the ordinary motorist the principles of stress free driving.
''The project will use the same ideas and problem solving that has been used to teach astronauts and pilots how to be safe in space.''
Dr Sharp has used methods taught in aerospace research to train traffic officers in attitude development.
''It will help drivers identify factors in driving that will enable them to target and identify the factors that could lead to road rage.
''It will effect the way people drive and improve decision making, helping protect not only the driver but all road users that come into contact with that driver.
''We would hope to avoid accidents and tragedy through improving drivers' attitude to other road users. Recognition of the signs that could lead to judgement being impaired by anger are at the forefront of this research.''
Chief Superintendent John Gilmour of Strathclyde Police said: ''This project has already proved successful amongst our own officers and in a young drivers project.
''This research will spread effortlessly into all ages of driver and we would hope will help curb stress-related driving.''
The Test unit was formally unveiled at a police traffic seminar held in Glasgow which concentrates on the ''caring approach'' to accident control.
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