MAGAZINE: Intelligence
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What Causes Road Rage?
Everyone has experienced some form of "road rage", but in some cases, it is a sign of a more serious mental disorder. Plus some tips to prevent totally losing your temper behind the wheel.
There always seems to be bad drivers out on the road, who pay little regard to the rules of road safety. Such aggressive driving by others can raise the ire in people and make them want to retaliate with their own maneuvers, by cutting other cars off or driving and overtaking at excessive speeds. Others include tailing the vehicle in front too closely, or cursing and giving rude gestures. Some may go as far as confronting and threatening other drivers or deliberately hitting other vehicles with their own.
By law, "road rage" is defined as the occurrence of a serious incident or accident stemming from such spontaneous and aggressive behavior. But to psychiatrists, road rage is in the act of aggression itself, which is due to problems with controlling our impulses. Both definitions of road rage include the willful intent to harm others, with little or zero regard for safety.
If it was a case of every driver for himself, chaos would definitely ensue on the road. It is true that road rage can stem from ignorance or disregard of road safety rules, such as in the case of running past red lights or overtaking using the emergency lane. These have been why some studies had tried to link road rage with anti-social behavior, but this has since been debunked. The main triggers of road rage have now been narrowed down to stress and rashness. People tend to drive for their own concern because they are in a hurry to get somewhere, or are just too anxious to get back home and relax. Ironically, such driving would only elevate stress levels.
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