Essay Sample on Road Rage

Introduction

Road rage refers to the act of driving aggressively with anger due to the disagreement between drivers on the road. Every day, there are new cases of accidents, fights that are caused by drivers speeding, or others being mad because the driver in front of them can drive fast thus they are blocking their way. Aggressive drivers always violate traffic rules by driving on red lights, over speeding and all other traffic violations thus endangering other people’s lives on the road. Road rage is one of the major causes of accidents in the world because drivers tend to be irrational when handling their fellow driver’s actions and emotion on the roads.

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The behaviour is growing fast and worse in the USA and the traffic police are always trying to enforce traffic rule by bringing the offenders to court. The aggressive drivers always show a sign of arrogance and ignorance by exchanging insults with other drivers, irritating honking, chasing other cars, application of rude gestures, shouting and screaming.

Causes of Road Rages

Road rage is mainly caused by the aggressive drivers on the road who are angered with the actions of their fellow drivers. The conflicts between drivers always lead o serious arguments and accidents which in turn endanger the lives of the people. Today, many car factories are manufacturing cars that almost everyone in the country could afford to buy. Therefore, there has been huge traffic on the roads all day long when people are going about their daily activities. To some drivers, they are in hurry to get to work, school, meeting and any other important events. In this regard, when someone is driving slower in front of them, the individual feel blocked thus causing arguments leading to road rages.

Road rage is also caused when the drivers are distractions while driving. Distractions on the road always happen to the most drivers. The distraction might be through a phone call from home, music, or a baby in the car. Destructions are normal but when it reaches to the extent where the driver cannot manage it, it angers the other drivers and they might get into arguments. When drivers are distracted, they might break instantly thus leading to collision from the back or accidents. When this happens, drivers get angry when because their cars had been damaged and that means extra cash to repair the damages.

Mental disorder is also believed to cause road rages. Many people in the world today are suffering silently with mental disorders including depression. When a person has mental disorders, it impairs their judgement while driving including when to change lanes, when to break and also use of signals while changing lanes or making turns. When this happens, the arguments between the drivers might occur or over speeding just to catch up with the one in the wrong.

Road constructions are carried out when the people are travelling like usual, the contractors tend to create a diversion or block one side of the road to make room for construction. When this happens, most drivers get angry because they fell they are delayed and start throwing insults at other people in the road, honking and using mocking gestures. people always have different reactions to a situation, therefore, the way some drivers handle constructions cases varies. Some feel they are getting late for work, dome fee that the road engineers are repairing roads at the wrong time but it is only logical that there is no perfect for constructions in busy countries.

Most drivers especially teenagers aged 19 years old, they like playing loud music while driving. The behaviour is irritating to some older drivers on the road. Therefore, in most cases, they will start yelling at each other because of the disagreement between them on the agreed volume to play music. A Road rage caused by this scenario is always arguments, over speeding and use of insulting gestures. Most of the drivers get in trouble with the police when caught playing loud music in their cars while driving because it is a sign of ignorance for other people and also noise pollution.

Another cause of road rage is slow driving. Some drivers like driving slowly when they are not rushing to work or home. Some drivers are not just used to driving faster because they are old or not used to the driver at a higher speed. Not everyone can understand why someone is driving slowly and why others are driving fast. Instead of handling the situation more maturely, some driver tends to act irrationally and start arguing and insulting others. This action is irritating to other drivers who are in a hurry to reach their destination. In this case, the exchange of insults and honking will be seen. This irritating behaviour therefore will lead to rage between the drivers.

In addition, road rage can be caused when the drivers tailgate other cars on the road. Tailgating refers to following another driver so closely in that it seems to be alarming to the driver being followed. No one likes to be followed that closely, it also feels like someone is stalking you. When this happens, the driver being followed is forced to confront the one following them. In this instance, the one following was not even aware of what they are doing these arguments out of anger will result.

Sometime, the drivers might change lanes immediately without signalling the other drivers following them. The behaviour will anger the other drivers because they are being cut off from the road. The worst thing about cutting off other drivers might lead to a series of accidents due to the collision of vehicles in traffic. The drivers will get into arguments on the road because of carelessly changing lanes with no signals

Headlight flashing also can cause road rage. Flashing headlights hinder the sight of the other drivers and might not see the road. In most cases, the driver ends up insulting the other driver by shouting and using abusive gestures to show anger.

Impacts of Road rage

Road rages have been associated with various harmful effects to the drivers, pedestrians and passengers. Therefore one of the most serious impacts of road rage includes accidents. When the drivers engage in unhealthy arguments, some tend to start chasing each other by speeding. Over speeding makes drivers lose control of the car thus causing accidents. The car might roll over colliding with other cars on the road thus leading to a series of accidents involving more than two vehicles. People will lose their lives and others will get seriously injured in that they will have to use the wheelchair all the rest of their lives.

Road rage also leads to physical fights between the drivers thus harming themselves. Drivers with anger issues always ted to get into physical fights with other motorists who are the cause of the problem. In most cases, some of the people will end up with a black eye, broken noses, and bleeding gums. Also, the physical might lead to the drivers using dangerous weapons including guns thus endangering the lives of other people. The use of firearms carelessly causes the death of the individuals and others will be jailed for life in prison.

Finally, road rage exposes the driver into anger management issues. Daily anger on the roads will affect the emotional and psychological health issues to the drivers. It will be impossible for them to control their anger when in a situation do not necessarily require one to overreact. This will lead to mental problems including ulcers, blood pressure and depression. Also, drivers might lose friends because of their aggressive and uncontrollable behaviours.

Prevention

The driver needs to know how to manage their anger when on roads to avoid road rages. When the individual understands how to manage and control their anger to avoid getting in conflict and argument with other drivers, it will help in reducing road rages thus protecting the lives of other road users. The drivers therefore should always plan before they start traveling on the roads. Making plans will help the drivers get ready on time to travel to avoid rushing on the road thus avoid getting in an argument with other drivers.

Also, when in a situation that could trigger unnecessary arguments on road, the driver should learn how to take a deep breath to ease their emotions thus helping them to relax and avoid arguments.

Also, drivers need to avoid engaging with raging drivers. Avoiding eye contact with the drivers who are angry and aggressive will the space to dominate and ease their anger.

The drivers can avoid road rags by acting a grownup and ignoring the insulting gestures. As stated above, most of the drivers who engage in road rage are between 29 years of age thus, they are still young and aggressive. For a grownup driver, the best way to avoid conflicts is by ignoring the gestures and let the aggressive drivers have their way. They will eventually calm down if no one is paying attention to them. It is also important when driver excise signalling when changing lanes, avoid honking unnecessarily and being patient enough with others while caught up in traffic jams.

Conclusion

In conclusion, road rage is a constant scenario seen on the roads. People are always moving and are it is normal to angry on road. Road rages are associated with many road accidents seen in the country; therefore, the driver should learn how to control their anger and aggressiveness to protect the lives of other road users sweal as their own lives.

References

8 tips to help drivers avoid road rage. (2018, February 7). Retrieved from https://abc13.com/how-to-avoid-road-rage-dont-be-a-victim-no-more-drivers-can/2194209/ Retrieved from https://www.safemotorist.com/Articles/road_rage/

Cause and effect of road rage (essay sample). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://blog.essaybasics.com/cause-and-effect-of-road-rage-essay-sample/

Road rage: What it is, how to avoid it. (2012, June 1). Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/road-rage-what-it-is-how-to-avoid-it