The 4 Factors Involved With Road Rage

Road rage is best described as the sudden display of anger by drivers due to the actions of other motorists. While the outbursts occasionally displayed by drivers aren’t always unfounded, they can lead to serious road mishaps.

Often, road rage is carried out in a retaliatory fashion; for instance, a driver who feels they have been slighted lets their anger get the best of them and goes on to pay the supposed offender in kind. While most road rage incidents only involve yelling expletives and swearing, it’s not always the case.

The Various Forms of Road Rage

Every person is unique in their own way; therefore, it’s challenging to determine the exact way a person would choose to react when they feel disrespected by other drivers on the road. Although road rage tends to occur due to the situation people find themselves in, it can, however, be a manifestation of their bottled-up anger and frustration.

A driver’s poor anger management capability or lack thereof can thereby cause them to act irrationally. The following are the common forms of road rage:

• Yelling
• Loud and excessive Honking
• Tailgating
• Intentionally blocking the path of another driver
• Blocking traffic or preventing drivers from changing lanes
• Tailing the perceived wrongdoer
• Getting out of the car to confront someone
• Intentionally ramming someone else’s car
• Weaving
• Going beyond the speed limit
• Driving on sidewalk

Causes of Road Rage

Renowned psychotherapist Ana Jovanovic once mentioned in an NBC article that the abrupt change in mood of a road rager is often unrelated to the traffic. Frequently, they might still be upset over an incident at work or perhaps due to a falling out with a partner or friend.

Letting such negative thoughts roam freely in the mind while driving is most likely to cause the driver to experience the same emotions they felt at the moment. Therefore, even the slightest annoyance can set them off at any moment.

In most scenarios, road rage is nothing more than a reflex reaction triggered by the behavior of a careless or irresponsible driver. Such situations are most likely to escalate when the person offended chooses to retaliate rather than express their displeasure calmly.

4 Factors That Often Lead To Road Rage

We’ve clarified earlier that there’s no particular way to deduce what could set someone off while driving. However, certain known factors can lead to road rage even with low anger drivers, some of which are listed below.

1. Heavy Traffic

It’s unlikely that anyone prefers to sit in endless traffic. However, some drivers reach their limit much quicker than others, which is why this is the most common cause of road rage. Once these kinds of drivers become impatient, they are most likely to be provoked by the slightest inconvenience.

2. Anonymity

A lot of things happen on the road since there are countless people with different attitudes and temperaments. Sometimes, people feel free to road-rage so long as they never have to meet the other party again. This kind of thinking motivates some drivers into lousy behaviors while driving.

3. Texting Or Distracted driving

It can be quite infuriating to watch drivers of other cars change lanes or swerve recklessly on crowded roads, even more so when you find out they were distracted because they were on the phone or texting. This can prompt the individual who feels offended to direct their anger at the irresponsible driver.

4. Impatience

Most drivers believe that their appointments are far more critical than anything else, which is why some drive erratically. While it might seem harmless to yell or honk your horn loudly at the car in front of you, it’s actually wrong to do so.

Some Other Causes of Road Rage

While some raging drivers were probably already pissed off before getting on the road, traffic conditions are also a contributing factor and can exacerbate the entire situation. Many people have had to deal with the stress of traffic breaks and freeway closures. The ability to cope in such difficult driving situations is what differentiates level-headed people from those likely to road rage.

Here are a few other elements that contribute to aggressive driving behavior and road rage incidents.

1. Road Conditions

Trying to find a good parking space, waiting for long periods at stoplights, and waiting for passengers each have a high propensity of leading to a road rage incident.

2. Lack Of Tolerance

Sometimes road raging incidents occur due to plain intolerance on the part of drivers. At times angry drivers get aggressive when they can’t seem to understand the other driver’s method of driving or why they would choose to act a certain way.

3. Stress Level

While each of the above points often causes road rage, it can also stem from impatience and general stress levels. When a driver feels that there’s something they have to do urgently, they become less concerned about their safety and resort to speeding.

4. Personal Issues

Road rage can occur due to environmental and psychological factors, but most especially by the latter. The environmental factors can be in the form of visible stressors on the road that cause a driver to become hostile. In contrast, the psychological factors mainly include displaced anger, high life stress, alcohol use, and illicit drug use.

5. Disregard For The Law And Other Drivers

Many self-referred aggressive drivers engage in risky driving behaviors due to a sheer lack of concern for other drivers and utter disregard for possible repercussions. While some aggressive drivers act the way they do without giving it any thought, some simply like to believe the law doesn’t apply to them.

6. Habitual or learned behavior

Most road ragers act on impulse while driving simply out of habit or due to the influence of those closest to them. Unfortunately, this kind of negative behavior can become a norm if people aren’t properly educated about the inherent risks involved.

Is road rage an offense?

Displaying aggressive behavior while driving can be classified as careless driving, which means there are penalties for said behavior. Road raging can result in getting charged with assault if it’s an offense against the Public Order Act, which was put in place in 1986.

Being prosecuted for hostility while driving can attract many consequences depending on the severity of the offense. It can even result in the loss of your license.

Driver anger is not necessarily a crime. However, if it causes the driver to act in a way that goes against traffic regulations, it can attract different penalties. For example, a driver can be fined, given penalty points, banned from the road for some time, or even sent to jail if their actions on the road led to a serious accident or put the lives of other drivers at risk.

You could be charged with assault on the grounds of damaging someone else’s property or causing them injuries if the road rage incident led to damage to someone else’s vehicle. Your car insurance rate can also increase.

How to Prevent Road Rage Incidents

A great way to avoid road rage is by leaving home on time. It also helps to be well rested before leaving home. As we’ve mentioned earlier, chronic lateness is one of the core reasons for driving misdemeanors. It helps to check traffic reports for road crashes, weather conditions, and other relevant information concerning the road before getting behind the wheels because you’ll already know what to expect this way.

Here are a few ways you can avoid road rage:

1. Cool down

It’s dangerous to use driving to cool off when you’re angry about something. You’re sorely mistaken if you think driving after a recent argument will help take your mind off it. Rather than helping you cool off, there’s a high possibility that you’ll want to blow off some steam which can result in intentional acts of aggression and bad driving behavior.

2. Refrain from tailgating

Some drivers are extremely cautious of their driving speed. If such a person happens to be in front of you and doesn’t seem to want to accelerate even though they’re in a fast lane, tailgating them is the wrong way to handle things. As a matter of fact, it won’t help you accomplish anything. The most it can do is cause the driver to ignore you, although things can get out of hand if the person decides to retaliate.

3. Don’t honk unnecessarily

In some cases, a light honk is necessary; for instance, the person ahead of you doesn’t realize that the traffic light has turned green. However, honking out of anger or frustration can be quite irritating, not just to the driver you’re annoyed with but to other drivers on the road.

4. Try To Be empathetic

The truth is that no one on the road is out to get you, which is reason enough not to take things personally while driving. Instead of getting upset at the slightest inconvenience, try considering the situation from the viewpoint of the other driver. For example, if someone in front of you happens to be driving slowly, this could probably mean they’re lost and trying to figure things out.

What to Do if You Experience Aggressive Driving Behavior

Anyone can be the victim of road rage. If, while driving, you observe that someone has made you their target, here are a few ways to prevent the situation from getting out of control and reduce the chances of confrontation.

1. Stay Calm

If you ever experience road rage, the best thing you can do is not let your emotions get the better of you. Try as much as possible not to provoke the aggressive driver any further by making rude gestures, blocking them, or making hand gestures.

2. Keep A Safe Distance

If you did something that causes another driver to want to get back at you, it’s best to avoid them safely rather than speeding or weaving. Also, refrain from stopping no matter how much you want to confront them unless you see a stop sign. However, it’s best to avoid doing so as the person is most likely to feel you’re the one in the wrong and misinterpret the situation.

3. Pull Over At The Nearest Police Station

If you’re being followed by an angry driver, a highly effective way to get them to stop is by pulling over at a police station or calling traffic authorities’ attention. Once you do either, the road rager will likely back off.

The Best Ways To Avoid Being An Aggressive Driver

Now that you know what to do when confronted by a road rager, the next thing you should know is how to avoid being one yourself. Here are a few valuable tips to help keep you level-headed whenever you’re behind the wheels.

• It’s best to start your journey early rather than leaving at the last minute, as doing so will afford you enough time to reach your destination.
• Ensure that your gas tank is filled, your mobile phone is charged, your GPS is pre-programmed, and every other thing that might complicate your journey is taken care of.
• Your emotional state matters a lot when driving; therefore, it’s essential that you only drive when you’re not angry.

Conclusion

Besides distracted driving, driving aggression and reckless driving are the two leading causes of car accidents and must therefore be avoided by the general population. Now that you know the common factors that perpetrate road rage, you’re in a much better position to prevent it entirely.