Research Paper Doctorate 788 words

Road Rage What Road Rage Is Why

Last reviewed: April 15, 2004 ~4 min read

Road Rage

What Road Rage is Why Road Rage Happens

Causes of Road Rage

Anger at Other Drivers

Anger at Other People (Not Drivers)

Rush to Arrive Somewhere

Feeling of Power Over Others

Stress That Comes From Other Causes

Several Causes for Road Rage

Concerns for the Future

To understand the causes of road rage and the general problems that it creates, it is important to understand what road rage actually is. Road rage is intense anger that occurs when an individual is driving his or her vehicle and something goes wrong or causes upset. When these people get angry they might make rude gestures at other drivers, cut them off in traffic, or even follow them when they exit a highway in hopes of starting some type of fight or intimidating the other person. Most people think that road rage happens just because of things that go on when someone is driving but in all reality there are many causes of road rage. Because of this, it is important to look at why road rage happens and all of the various issues that could be related to it so that people who try to avoid road rage or possibly recognize it in others have a chance to do something about it or leave the situation to avoid getting hurt.

There are many different causes of road rage and the most obvious one is the anger that these people feel at other drivers. This could be because the other driver has done something that the angry person sees as stupid or careless, but it could also be because the other person is driving a better car or looks like someone that the angry person knows and does not like. This anger at other drivers can be very strong but it is also possible that this road rage is caused by anger at someone other than the driver of another vehicle. The person who is experiencing road rage might have had a fight with their wife or husband or may be angry at their children, a bill collector, the electric company, or hundreds of other individuals and businesses. This anger, because it cannot be used against the person that it is actually directed at, is taken out on other drivers for something minor that normally would probably not upset someone so much. Another cause of road rage is the daily rush that most individuals experience when they are trying to get somewhere on time. Many of these individuals are running late for work or an appointment that they need to get to and because of this they are in a very large hurry. When individuals drive slowly in front of them or cut them off they often feel as though they are being threatened and pushed even farther away from their time of arrival. Because of this they get angry and sometimes this escalates into road rage when these people become so angry that they feel that they have to get back at the person in the other car. Some of these people also just want to have a feeling of power over other individuals and if they have a large vehicle that more easily intimidates other drivers they sometimes use this to cut other individuals off or to tailgate them in a way that makes the individuals in the smaller vehicle feel threatened. Some people take pleasure in holding this type of power over other individuals but there are also other causes of road rage. Stress in general can cause road rage and there are so many causes of stress that it would be impossible to list them all here. Being angry at other people or hurrying to get somewhere is part of that stress but there could also be other issues such as health problems and financial problems that makes these people upset and angry to the point where they lash out at the first person that they see and that person might be somebody behind the wheel of another vehicle.

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PaperDue. (2004). Road Rage What Road Rage Is Why. PaperDue. https://www.paperdue.com/essay/road-rage-what-road-rage-is-why-167341

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