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Put the Brakes On!
In North Carolina, a driving school instructor ordered his student to chase a vehicle that cut them off in traffic. When they caught up to the bad driver, the instructor jumped out and punched him.
In Massachusetts, a 54-year-old bookkeeper got into a heated traffic dispute with another driver. After driving for several miles, the motorists stopped and got out of their vehicles. The bookkeeper pulled a crossbow from his trunk and killed the other driver with a hunting arrow.
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A Growing Problem
In the late 1980s, the term “Road Rage” was coined to describe acts of aggression and violence on streets and highways. Today, the American Automobile Association defines the frightening phenomenon as “an incident in which an angry or impatient motorist or passenger intentionally injures or kills another motorist, passenger or pedestrian, or attempts or threatens to injure or kill another motorist, passenger or pedestrian.”
Safety experts, social scientists and law enforcement officials stress that aggressive driving and road rage aren’t necessarily synonymous. Aggressive driving includes tailgating, abrupt lane changes, speeding and other dangerous behind-the-wheel behaviors that are traffic offenses. Road rage is uncontrolled anger that often results in violence or threatened violence.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration points out that aggressive driving can sometimes escalate to angry gesturing, yelling cursing, confrontation, physical assault and even murder.
Staring in the 1990s, the media have reported more and more accounts of road rage. What was once considered essentially rude or bizarre behavior is now seen by many experts as a growing problem.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, many of America’s 44,000 annual highway fatalities are at least partially caused by these aberrant behaviors. AAA estimates the figure at 1,800 needless deaths a year.
“Cultivate Patience”
“I’ve been driving for over 60 years, and it’s definitely gotten worse. I find a great deal of hostility on the road, and just rudeness. People are in such a burry. If you take more than a half a second to start up at a greet light, right away someone honks or they come right up behind you.
“I try to cultivate patience. I think being patient is a key to Christian living, on and off the road. If you wish that driver peace, you will find that it makes you more peaceful. So I often pray: ‘Peace be with you and do no harm.’ ”-- Hermine Lees, Alhambra, California
No single Profile, but ….
A major study by the Foundation for Traffic Safety said there’s “no one profile” of the road rage driver. Still, most were poorly educated males between 18 and 26. Many had criminal records along with histories of violence and alcohol or drug problems. A significant number had suffered recent setbacks, such as losing a job or going through a divorce.
“But hundreds of aggressive drivers are successful men and women with no known histories of crime, violence or alcohol and drug abuse,” the Aggressive Driving study reported. “When the medial interview the friends and neighbors of these individuals, they hear that ‘he is the nicest man,’ or ‘he must have been provoked.’ ”
Unsafe drivers were more affected by mood swings than safe ones. Having a bad day had an adverse effect on their driving behavior. The investigation also discovered that the actions of other drivers on the road had a profound impact on unsafe drivers.
Therapists have a clinical diagnosis for road rage. Since 1997, “intermittent explosive disorder” has been certified as an official mental condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It ‘s characterized by lack of impulse control and as a “disproportionate reaction” to any provocation.
“Fight or Flight”
“People are enduring a lot of stresses today, and a lot of times we can’t express that. So there’s displacement’ when we’re stuck in traffic or somebody takes our parking space. It’s very easy to become angry at a person I don’t know, especially if I’m in a car.”
“We have bred in us this ‘fight or flight’ response that’s left over from prehistoric times. Our heart beats faster, our muscles tense and we take quicker and shorter breaths. Deep breathing can really help because it slows everything down like meditation. From a religious standpoint, I can say, “I’m going to pray that that person who’s driving aggressively finds peace.’ ”
--- Robin Bishop, psychologist, Mt. St. Mary’s College, Los Angeles
What Causes Road Rage?
First, traffic is getting worse. More vehicles are on the road today than ever before. Unfortunately, this hectic highway activity pervades our multi-tasking society that just wants to get where it’s going as quickly as possible.
More congestion also means more driving encounters and that means more blowups. Experts agree that bad driving is the number one cause of anger that touches off most road rage incidents. One national study heard some of the following reasons for violent disputes: “He but me off.” “The old guy was driving too slowly.” “she wouldn’t turn off her high beams.” “Nobody gives me the finger.”
The ironic thing, according to traffic authorities, is that most of these trivial incidents were actually unintended errors of judgment, but were perceived as intentional in-your-face threats.
Demographic changes are also cited, including a rise in the number of immigrants from a variety of cultures with different driving habits. SUVs have also played a role in road rage, according to some authorities. They claim that drivers, encased in large mental shells looming over ordinary cars, feel more powerful and invincible. A drop in the number of high school students taking driver’s education is also mentioned as contributing to highway problems.
Psychologists point out that human beings are territorial. From our ancient ancestors, we’ve developed personal space as a defense mechanism and anybody who invades this space is seen as a potential aggressor. Motorists consider their cars and the space around them as their territory.
Most authorities agree that while road rage is often sparked by trivial trigger events, the real cause lies deeper. The underlying culprit is the cumulative effect of a long list of stressors that come from living in today’s super-fast-paced 21st century.
Being ‘Human’ on the Highway
Isn’t there a better way to drive?
Father Ed Dillon, chaplain at Marymount College in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, believes all drivers should foster a “human” approach on the highway.
“Leave a little early and take time to relax when you arrive,” he says. “Get out and stretch your legs; talk to people before you go into your meeting. Why do we have to get more done, go faster every day? The car fits into that whole lifestyle of speed.”
Father Dillon says he tries to give people the benefit of the doubt. When he sees somebody changing lanes too suddenly or going 35 in a 50 mph zone, he reminds himself, “I’ve done that a hundred times.”
The priest recalls a scary incident on a county road near his hometown in upstate New York. Two men in a pickup truck pulled up beside him at a crossroads ranting and raving because he didn’t know which way to turn. He finally turned left, wondering if they were going to follow and hurt him. Fortunately, the pickup went straight, but the incident still haunts him.
“I think something happens to us when we get in our car,” Father Dillon muses. “It’s just me and my bubble. You’re anonymous. In traffic, you don’t exist. It’s the car. So the car has dehumanized us more than we realize.”
I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment … So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:22,23-24)
Don’t be a “raodrager”
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Do not lose your cool; don’t take what happens on the road personally; back off and calm down; breathe deeply; practice patience.
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Put yourself in the other driver’s shoes: Give the benefit of the doubt and don’t assume a mistake was intentional.
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Don’t retaliate; or even think about “getting even.”
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Reduce your stress; Listen to music or books on tape while driving; do not grip the wheel tightly or clench your teeth. Allow extra time for your trip.
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Seek help if you have a control problem; Read books on stress management; take an anger management workshop; see a counselor.
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