Road rage

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Road rage is a term used to refer to violent behavior by a driver of an automobile, which thus causes accidents or incidents on roadways. It can be thought of as an extreme case of aggressive driving.

Contents 1 Manifestation 2 Legal status 3 Road rage as a medical condition 4 Penalties 5 U.S. Rankings 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Manifestation

From the perspective of law enforcement and transportation safety officials, because cars give people a sense of anonymous power that explain such confrontations, road rage and aggressive driving manifest themselves in actions such as:

• speeding and aggressive acceleration
• tailgating
• rolling hard through a toll booth at speeds greater than 80mph, to scare anyone and everyone within viewing distance
• cutting others off in a lane
• turning off one's air conditioning on a hot day to cause one's appearance to become more weathered and intimidating
• driving at high speeds in the grassy median of an interstate to terrify drivers in both lanes
• stopping two or more vehicles for an impromptu and unsanctioned boxing match in the median
• aggressively swerving one's vehicle back and forth across both lanes of a highway until spinning out and sliding into the median causing a rollover
• shouting at or verbally abusing other drivers
• weaving in and out of traffic
• a relatively new phenomena called "family rage". this involves a single car disagreement before pulling off onto the shoulder, at which point the entire family rapidly exits the vehicle and and begins wrestling until broken up by other motorists
• shaking ones clenched fist at other motorists, with or without the display of brass knuckles
• forming "jerries convoy" to block access to a traffic lane
• sounding the vehicle's horn or flashing lights excessively, this includes flicking the dome lamp on and off at an absurd rate
• rude gestures (such as the finger), mean face, and the extremely offensive hoppity diddly
• shouting verbal abuse or threats
• cutting a "vision hole" in one's hood, so one can still drive normally when the hood is released at high speeds on the interstate. the driver is blinded by the hood and about to suffer a horrific crash and subsequent death, when in reality he is not. this is to terrify other drivers.
• forcefully and quickly engaging the brake then gas in a repetitive pattern.^{[citation needed]}
• deliberately hitting another person, vehicle or object with one's own vehicle.
• hitting a person or vehicle with an improvised weapon in response to a perceived wrongdoing involving a vehicle.
• attempting to shower another driver with pepper spray
• threatening to use or using a firearm or other deadly weapon.
• engaging one's windshield wiper fluid sprayers excessively to mist surrounding cars
• pursuing for retaliation or revenge of a real or perceived slight.
• attempting to contort one's body to display the dangerous and thrilling "rolling full moon"
• driving in the passing lane and keeping pace with the car next to them to enforce the speed limit themselves
• throwing objects from a moving vehicle with the intent of damaging other vehicles. including but not limited to bowling balls, nerf foam footballs, and those delicious red skittles

In the U.S., more than 300 cases of road rage annually have ended with serious injuries or even fatalities^{[citation needed]} – 1200 incidents per year, according to the AAA Foundation study, and rising yearly throughout the six years of the study that examined police records nationally.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Legal status

In some jurisdictions there may be a legal difference between "road rage" and "aggressive driving." In the U.S., only a few states have enacted special aggressive driving laws, where road rage cases — about 1,200 a year — are normally processed as assault and battery (with or without a vehicle), or "vehicular homicide" (if someone is killed).

[edit] Road rage as a medical condition

As early as 1997, therapists in the United States were working to certify road rage as a medical condition. It is already an official mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.^{[citation needed]} According to an article published by the Associated Press in June 2006, the behaviors typically associated with road rage are the result of intermittent explosive disorder.^{[citation needed]} This conclusion was drawn from surveys of some 9,200 adults in the United States between 2001 and 2003 and was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

The cause of intermittent explosive disorder has not been described to date. There are many different views on whether "road rage" is a mental issue or not.

[edit] Penalties

Road rage is a relatively serious act: It may be seen as an endangerment of public safety. It is, however, not possible to judge intent by external observation, so "road ragers" who are stopped by police may be charged only with relatively minor offences such as careless or reckless driving.^{[citation needed]}

It is likely that those causing serious injury or death during "road rage" incidents will suffer more serious penalties than those applicable to similar outcomes from simple negligence. In April 2007, a Colorado driver was convicted of first-degree murder for causing the deaths of two motorists in November 2005.^[1][2] He will serve a mandatory sentence of two consecutive life terms.

A few U.S. states have passed laws against aggressive driving. Only one state, California, has turned "road rage" into a legal term of art by giving it a particular meaning.^[3]

[edit] U.S. Rankings

A 2007 study of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas concluded that the cities with the least courteous drivers (most road rage) are Miami, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, and Boston. The cities with the most courteous drivers (least road rage) are Minneapolis, Nashville, St. Louis, Seattle, and Atlanta.[1]

[edit] See also

• air rage
• computer rage
• wrap rage

[edit] References

• Controlling Road Rage: A Literature Review and Pilot Study Prepared for the The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety By Daniel B. Rathbone, Ph.D. Jorg C. Huckabee, MSCE June 9, 1999 http://www.aaafoundation.org/resources/index.cfm?button=roadrage
• ROAD RAGE: CAUSES AND DANGERS OF AGGRESSIVE DRIVING (transcript of a portion of the official hearin record of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure – 1997): http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/Trans/hpw105-34.000/hpw105-34_0f.htm
• Summary Table on Aggressive Driving Laws http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/enforce/speedlaws501/summtable_aggressive.htm
• Redshaw, Sarah (2001) Safer driving through reflective thinking http://drivers.com/article/369/
• Survey of the States Speeding Laws http://www.statehighwaysafety.org/html/publications/pdf/surveystates2005/speeding_intro.pdf http://www.vcorps.army.mil/Safety/driving/AggressiveDriving.ppt#23
• Safe Senior Citizen Driving http://www.helpguide.org/life/senior_citizen_driving.htm
• Whitlock, F.A., 1971, Death on the Road: A Study in Social Violence, London: Tavistock.

[edit] External links

• Extensive data regarding road rage and driving behavior can be found at the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website.es:Violencia vial

ja:ロード・レージ simple:Road rage