Crowded Areas Increase the Chance of Road Rage
It is most common in urban areas where roadways tend to be overcrowded. Up to 90% of people report having been the victim of an aggressive act by another driver, and over half admit to having acted aggressively themselves. In fact, statistics show that road rage incidents have become more common and as dangerous in outcome as drunk driving. Road rage is the number two problem on the roads, following drunk drivers.
Here are some important facts: More people are carrying weapons. More vehicles are sharing the road, which causes more tension and a higher likelihood of highway rage.
It Can Start with Incitement
An incident of road rage often begins with two factors. There is often someone who is driving aggressively and taking risks that are likely to make any motorist angry. Additionally, there is often a motorist who doesn’t know how to or doesn’t choose to control his or her anger and allows it to work up until it boils over, all the time blaming the aggressive driver and not recognizing his or her own problem. In fact, in some cases there may not have been an aggressive driver at all: the person with road rage may be imagining that he or she was infringed on by someone who was completely innocent. In either case, when the raging driver acts out, the driver who caused offense (or who is believed to have caused offense) may be tempted to respond, starting a chain of dangerous driving activity. Some of the poor, careless, or risky driving that could incite rage in an