What is Road Rage?
According to a study published last summer by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, aggressive driving–or what some people call “road rage”–is defined as “An incident in which an angry or impatient motorist or passenger intentionally injures or kills another motorist, passenger, or pedestrian, or attempts to injure or kill another motorist, passenger, or pedestrian, in response to a traffic dispute, altercation, or grievance.” The definition also includes incidents where “an angry or vengeful motorist drives his or her vehicle into a building or other structure or property.” Road Rage Behavior Includes: Beeping the horn Pursuing a vehicle Flashing head lights Forcing a car off the road Gesticulation Forcing a car to pull over Verbal abuse Bumping into another car Tailgating Threatening another driver Braking or slowing suddenly Damaging another vehicle intentionally Deliberate obstruction Physically assaulting another driver Cutting off or swerving in front Who Commits Road Rage? Ac
Road rage covers a multitude of hostile acts committed by angry or frustrated drivers, from deliberate tailgating to vehicular homicide. The prevalence of road rage has increased so much in the past decade that psychologists have actually classified it as a mental disorder. Many drivers who are prone to sudden emotional outbursts or inappropriate reactions are now said to suffer from intermittent explosive disorder. Not all incidents of road rage can be attributed to a mental disorder, however. Some experts believe drivers learn aggressive behavior from observing their parents and watching numerous examples of simulated road rage on television. Even under the best of conditions, driving is a stressful activity. Experienced drivers develop coping mechanisms for the everyday driving errors of others, but there’s always the possibility of a major accident lurking around the bend. Drivers also bear the responsibility of keeping other passengers safe during the commute. With all of these el
Road rage encompasses much more than just what a dictionary can provide. Road rage, also called intermittent explosive disorder, is a term used to refer to violent incidents resulting from stress caused by accidents or incidents on roadways. It is often a natural extension of aggressive driving. Road rage frustration and aggression are not caused by traffic, no matter how heavy. Road rage is a learned cultural habit of retaliation when you feel like retaliating. It’s a free choice we exercise. When we are frustrated in heavy traffic we have a choice of how we’re going to respond. Road rage in its simplest form occurs when a driver reacts angrily to other drivers, cutting them off, tailgating, gesturing or waving a fist. At its worst, the angry driver may become more aggressive and try to kill or injure another driver. In all actuality, road rage is an expression of an underlying problem with a driver. That driver is not able to remain in control of themselves and their emotions. It isn
Road rage (also road violence) is the informal name for deliberately dangerous and/or violent behavior under the influence of heightened, violent emotion such as anger and frustration, involving an automobile in use. This can involve deliberately hitting another person, vehicle or object with his/her own vehicle and/or firing a weapon from it. Other possibilities include hitting the person or vehicle with an item which is not his vehicle, but which ultimately hits another person or vehicle. Getting out of one’s vehicle to another person’s vehicle and banging, knocking on the windows, and yelling insults, is another form of road rage. Road rage can be caused by a variety of events, circumstances, and environments. The three main categories use to classify what causes road rage are the environment, instructive responses, and territorial defensiveness.
