Road Rage: Have We Made a Pill for It Yet?

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I recall the excitement I felt when I obtained my license to drive. I was sixteen years old and gained the ability to travel at will.The key to adventure was now in the pocket of my jeans. I enjoyed driving and all the freedoms that came with it. I could pick up my friends and explore areas of my state that we had not been to, or go to the beach or a drive in movie. The world became more easily accessible and I took advantage of it every chance I could, but many years have passed since I was the age of sixteen, and while I still enjoy driving, the adventure is usually tainted by aggressive drivers.

My weekly routine  consists of driving an average of thirty four miles per day to and from work, and each day I will either fall victim to an aggressive driver or witness road rage incidents. According to the U.S. Highway Safety Office “tens of thousands of accidents each year can be linked directly to aggressive driving, including road rage, and is now a leading cause of death for young children.” I am frustrated by their statement. A motor vehicle accident that occurs as a direct result of road rage or aggressive driving is not an accident, it is willful destruction of personal property and malicious intent to do bodily harm. These are acts that clearly warrant charges of attempted murder. In order for the government to prove attempted murder they must find the person was acting deliberately and intentionally, or recklessly with extreme disregard for human life, and did something that was a substantial step toward committing the crime. All of these factors are evident in a road rage related collision. Furthermore if such a collision results in the death of the victim (s) then a charge of murder should apply.

I have read many articles on the topic of road rage and have found that the information is often conflicting as well as confusing. This is most evident with regard to the causes of aggressive driving. For example; one study estimates that more than half of all drivers have experienced a surge of road rage at some point. Another study claims that specialists believe that road ragers and aggressive drivers suffer from intermittent explosive disorder. This conflicts with the first study because it implies that more than two thirds of all drivers in the U.S.A. suffer from Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Other articles and professionals claim that road rage is a diagnosible disorder, so do not be surprised when we are introduced to the road rage pill.

One of the more logical conclusions to the cause of road rage is over crowding, as it leads to aggression. There are many more vehicles on the road today compared to when I was in my teens. In fact I live in Rhode Island, which is the second most densely populated state in the United States, and was recently voted for the second year straight to contain the worst and most ignorant drivers in the nation. Even more obvious causes of road rage are uncontrolled anger and selfishness. After all we have become a consumer driven society that is geared toward instant gratification. 

Incidents of road rage will likely increase until we institute stiffer penalties for these crimes. The following are  safety tips that you can take to reduce your chances of being victimized. 

• Follow the rules of the road.
• Leave plenty of travel time rather than leaving last minute. I leave early every morning to avoid congestion.
• Do not engage the other driver, it takes two to tango
• Carry a cell phone, it provides for instant communication in case of an emergency 
• Do not tailgate 
• Leave plenty of room between you and the car in front of you when stopped in traffic, this will allow for a means of egress if an incident occurs and someone approaches your vehicle. 
• If you are being followed try to drive towards the nearest police station and keep an eye out for patrol cars along the way.
• Do not pull over on the side of the road