The Truth About Road Rage

We all have road rage. Although there are many who would not admit it, ("The other drivers are the ones with the rage, not me!") it's still there. Think about any time you have "tskd" or sighed or frowned or shrieked because of the actions of another driver. If you have shouted out loud in your car, cursed another driver, or rammed your car into theirs, you probably have road rage at some level.

So why does driving, even when we have no where to be, stress us out?

Don't you like to think of driving as a car commercial - zooming aimlessly around mountain curves or through the desert? Or perhaps just going for a country drive - taking in the scenery. Although analysts think it may be dying, America has a "car culture," mostly because the car represents the American spirit. It represents independence, achievement, versatility, and invention. We love driving to work rather than taking trains or buses because of the independence of leaving when we wish and arriving when we wish.

We just don't take into consideration those other pesky drivers.

You see, the root of all road rage is a frustration because of a lack of control. Add to this problem the perception that the cause of that frustration may be a car - an inanimate object -rather than another human. (We also have a need for speed, as objects in motion tend to stay in motion).

Think about the scenarios you find yourself in while driving. Traffic. This one gets to me - we are all in the same situation, but no one wants to do anything about it. When I am sitting on the highway doing nothing, I wonder why the other cars (as opposed to the people in them) didn't take the bus. I wonder what granny-lady two miles down the road is holding us up. And I wonder why the concept of merging is so hard. I can't control how many drivers are on the road at any given time, and it frustrates me.

(Frankly, rush hour traffic always gets me logistically speaking because the highway goes on forever - if the cars in the front of all the entire traffic are moving at the speed limit, and the cars behind them, and the cars behind them - what's the problem? Why does it get to such a problem?)

One exhibition of road rage I employ involves tail gating. I'm a little nervous about getting in a wreck, so I don't do it to the extreme that others do. But there's nothing more frustrating than being blocked behind someone going under the speed limit. Especially if there's no one in front of that person. And especially if you're in the middle of a three-lane highway blocked in on all sides by lollygaggers. While people debate (oftentimes with the police) the accetable ranges to exceed the speed limit, I usually think of it as a common courtesy to at least go the speed limit. But I can't control how fast other drivers go.

I get frustrated at a red light because I have no control. I have no control of when the light will change. I have no control of whether the car in front of me will go through the yellow light or stop early. If I am turning right, I have no control over whether the car in front of me will also turn right, therefore allowing me to continue my forward momentum.

The final example I will give is based on a lack of control as well as something that fights against all the rules of fairness we were indoctrinated with as kids - right of way. From the time we are five years old we are taught about lines and how people are served in the order they get in line. We are taught that the people behind us will patiently wait while we take our turn. However, on the road, these rules do not matter. If I am turning left (anywhere) I can be stuck there for hours while oncoming traffic keeps on coming and coming. Even though I was probably at that intersection before the other cars even considered taking a trip, I still have to yield.

Add to this frustration when you cannot predict the movement of other cars. Blinkers are a great tool when used properly. Enough people have thumbed their noses at the concept that it has ruined it for everyone.

The same frustration comes with lights. They have become fairly predictable for me. However, sometimes they do not follow the pattern I ascribe to them. Or perhaps they last too long. Or they didn't recognize that I had pulled up in time to give me the arrow (you see - first come first serve only is a good rule when it works in my interest).

Let's just face it, American spirit or not, the minute we put the key in the ignition, we give up a large part of our freedom, and it's not just limited to following the laws. While you may choose a career with any level of personal interaction that suits you best, when you get on the road, you have to interact with all kinds and play nice. There's no real rhyme or reason to it - you have to dawdle behind granny because...well, what other choice do you have?

And that, my friends, is the truth about road rage.