Road Rage

     

   Lately, there have been some terrifying incidents with people who get angry on the road. A lot of people driving do not pay attention, some are on their phones, or some are distracted by something. Although it is frustrating when you get cut off on the road, or almost get side-swiped because someone is distracted while driving, it does not give anyone the excuse to act out so aggressively, making this problem ethical. A problem that has been rising at an extremely dangerous and life-threatening rate in my community is road rage.

    This behavior may happen considering the high-stress levels people are experiencing. They could be having a bad day, and this was their breaking point. A lot of people are quick to become angry over situations that do not need to be escalated any more than just a honk, warning someone to pay attention, or watch out while driving. Unfortunately, now a simple honk could set people off. “Certain psychological factors, including displaced anger and high life stress, are also linked to road rage.” 

    A recent incident I experienced myself was when I was driving to work one morning, a woman almost side-swiped me as she was trying to weave in and out of lanes during morning rush hour. I honked at her to let her know she was way too close to me, and she lost it. She started flinging herself out of her vehicle window, flipping me off, and yelling at me. She kept trying to get up next to me for the rest of my drive on the freeway. Every time she was next to me, she would continue to scream and throw her hands out at me. 

     The problem with road rage is that I feel it is out of anyone’s control. No one can stop a person from the actions they choose. Something that may lessen people from acting so aggressive might be strict law enforcement when it comes to seeing acts of road rage before more lives are threatened. 

Sources:https://www.apa.org/topics/anger/road-rage