Road Rage: When Anger Takes a Toll

As a direct result of behavior triggered by anger behind the wheel, road rage is responsible for nearly two-thirds of the nation's traffic fatalities. As the body count escalates every year, this behavior pattern is being recognized as a documentable mental illness. An illness which, like alcoholism, many sufferers don't recognize they have, until disaster strikes. Two seemingly separate sociological phenomena, the increase in population density, and aggressive and omnipresent advertising messages equating a person's worth, virility, and social level to the car he drives, are volatile combustion elements, poised to trigger an explosion.

Aggressive Driving and Road Rage

On a busy freeway, a clueless yuppie in a black Infiniti G35 caresses a cell phone in the passing lane as faster traffic pulls around him on the right and gives him the horn. In another situation, a soccer mom in a minivan pulls into the passing lane and, instead of advancing past traffic in the slower lane, keeps pace with them, causing drivers in her lane to slow down, tailgate, and honk their horns. A homeless person crosses the street against the light, regarding your stare with open-mouthed catatonia as he slowly walks past the front of your vehicle. You accelerate, and swerve threateningly close to him. More than one of these scenarios and many others can and will occur around us every time we climb into the driver's seat. Examples of aggressive driving, these behaviors are frequently mistaken for road rage. Aggressive driving behavior can be a trigger for another person's episode of road rage however.

How we choose to handle ourselves in these situations can mean the difference between an experience we forget a few seconds later, or one which triggers a sequence of events that we will regret for the rest of our lives. People who somehow rise above the scarcity of manners, disregard for common courtesy, and plain ignorance that is displayed by drivers and pedestrians today, deserve recognition and praise. A substantial proportion of us however, are affected by the behavior of our fellow man. With the reflexes of an Olympic boxer, we personalize the intent of these meaningless occurrences and respond with feelings that range from mild annoyance, to downright anger. We have wasted many year's worth of birthday wishes to petition any deity who will listen, to grant that stupidity would someday become painful. The truth is, our wish will never come true, and people will never get what they deserve.

Perpetuating Negative Emotions

The automobile is a steel and glass envelope inside which we can feel in control, above it all, and anonymous. Sadly, our conveyance does not do any of that, but rather, makes us more a target, a generalization, a non-person. In traffic, we become caricatures, or exaggerations of real people. Look at that (sexist slur) in the Hummer for example. That steel and glass isolation booth we drive is enough to keep out the noise, and pollution, but if someone cuts us off, or gets in our way, here's where the real person rolls down the window and gives us a Howdy.

Keeping on Task

Everyone gets annoyed in traffic, but to prevent annoyance from spiraling out of control, remember your primary objective for being on the road then and there. You are not out there to teach every ignoramus a lesson, or to insist that you deserve the right of way. You are not there with the baby in the car seat next to you to multitask with the CD player while taking Seven to the salon. You are trying to get from A to B safely. Forget about everyone else's perceived agendas.

Interrupting A Vicious Cycle

On the road, just like in school, there are ordinary kids, and there are bullies. Try to imagine what a person who is impatient in traffic was like when they were young, cutting in line, pushing and shoving. Now imagine that child behind the wheel of a 4000 lb Toyota Tundra. It is comical to imagine this but, an adult's behavior can be just a bigger version of what their childhood self was like. Once you have that image in mind, try to feel sympathy for that child/person. Practice replacing anger with sympathy for the people who are aggressive, thoughtless, or inconsiderate. Try to change anger to another emotion before it escalates.

Simplify the Environment, Drive Defensively

Keep traffic from taking its emotional toll on you by organizing your time to avoid compounding the problem. Rush hour is bad enough, but to promise someone a ride to the airport during rush hour is a test of anyone's nerves. Promote the concept of flex time at work to ease the stress of the commute. Avoid repeated lane changes just to move up a few cars. Give yourself the time to go with the flow rather than trying to win a race. If you spy an aggressive driver in your vicinity, give the person room to maneuver, allowing him to pass you and giving him room in front of you. Remember an aggressive driver can be the victim of road rage as well as the perpetrator. You don't want to be on the receiving end or the giving end.

Never Hurts To Apologize

A quick search of the Internet may reveal how seriously folks are viewing the problem of aggressive drivers and road rage. There are countless ways to indicate our displeasure to another driver, but not much in the way of more charitable gestures. Many sites recommmend fashioning placards and signs that say "Sorry!" or "My fault" to display in the driver window when appropriate. Even something as low-tech as this can go a long way to prevent a fit of road rage.

by John Prinz