Road Rage It starts with just a moment of tailgating, or maybe the guy in front cut you off or wouldn't let you into the fast lane. Then it becomes a war on the freeway. It doesn't matter what causes it -- bad day at the office, fighting with friends or family, credit cards maxed out. All it takes is a jerk of someone else's wheels and within seconds, a normal commuter is taken over by a power of anger that is so strong, it affects more than sixty percent of drivers each year. Road rage, something that has always been on the highways of America, is now the strongest yet. The number of serious incidents of road rage has risen more than fifty-one percent since 1990. (3) More than ten thousand examples of road rage have been documented nationwide over the past six years which are only a small part of what is really going on. On the west coast, a good-natured person stops to help a stranded motorist, then tries to get back onto the freeway in front of a slow-moving truck. The truck driver won't let him in, and within seconds, the nice person has gone bad, pounding on the truck hood, pulling a knife and killing the driver. In Los Angeles, actor Jack Nicholson, jumps out of his car and smashes in a cars' windshield with a golf club just because the car had cut him off. Outside Washington D.C., two angry drivers chasing each other, at more than eighty miles an hour, crash into commuter traffic, leaving three people, other then themselves, dead. Like other violence in America, it's not just the numbers, but the severity of road rage that is rising. People used to scream at each other, now they shoot at each other or run them over with their cars. It's a major contagious disease.(3) Road Rage has become so serious that big companies, afraid of losing one of their best workers or going through a major lawsuit if one of their drivers loses it on the freeway and kills someone, are sending their employees to counseling sessions to help their drivers understand the seriousness of road rage. Psychologists are now treating road rage as a mental disorder. People guilty of road rage need to admit they have a problem because, just like any other disorder or addiction, they don't consider road rage a
Aggressive driving can also result from drunk or drug driving and distracted driving. It is hence densely woven into multiple road dangers.
After some time driving around, they eventually decided to drive past Timothy Smith’s house but were stopped by a roadblock that had been set up by police. When someone from the car asked an officer if a traffic accident was causing the delay the officer responded by saying there had been a “people accident,” Frida Smith said.
Dangers on roadways is an issue that describes the discrepancy between perception and reality of road rage. The media, for some odd reason, tends to make road rage a huge controversial issue. As seen on talk shows from Oprah Winfrey to CNN, they reveal to people that road rage could happen at any time and to always be looking over your shoulder. These talk shows and news programs also put fear into our minds by explaining that most roadragers often use guns to kill or injure their victims. Glassner contradicts the media's speculations by stating that out of approximately 250,000 people killed on roadways between 1990-1997, AAA attributed that one in one thousand was an act of road rage (pg.5).
In your opinion, what are the top three most important social factors that contribute to violent death in the United States?
teenage drivers is running off of the road. According to the Utah driver’s handbook, 30% of all
Road rage caused by aggressive driving tendencies is a growing epidemic affecting today's roadways, but there is a solution.Transition 1: As you can see road rage is a serious problem that could potentially affect us all. But many of us have different ideas of the scope of road rage.BodyI. You can better combat "road rage" by understanding what it is...A. Road rage or aggressive driving is defined as behavior behind the wheel in which furious drivers lose their temper and engage in risk-taking behavior or attempt to injure or kill another driver or pedestrian over minor traffic disputes.(Dr.
According to the Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, "automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for those aged 3 to 33, with 43,005 (118 per day) Americans killed in 2002 alone" (Clayton, Helms, Simpson, 2006). Worldwide, vehicle accidents consist of 1.2 millions deaths per year, "behind only childhood infections and AIDS as cause of death amount people aged 5 to 30 years old" (Clayton., 2006). The annual cost of road accidents is estimated about $518 billion"(Factor, Yair, Mahalel, 2013). The fact alone of being in a moving, heavy vehicle is a danger in itself but individuals that do not wear their seat belts, talk on the phone, text, and do other distracting behavior also put themselves in even more harmful situations.
into a house, the bully pushing to the front of a queue, the driver trying to
slide his ID under the door. Dont stop on the road to help a motorist
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers” -Dave Barry, comedian. The number of accidents over the last ten years have drastically increased, drivers are paying less attention to the road itself. Many individuals behind the wheel of a car believe that their driving does not affect the road conditions, however it always will. The driving habits of today are catastrophic due to the reasoning that the driving will affect other lives through reckless or distracted driving, and disobeying traffic laws.
It starts with just a moment of tailgating, or maybe the guy in front of you cut you off or wouldn’t let you into the fast lane. In some cases it appears that incidents of road rage are caused by simple misunderstandings between drivers. A driver may make a momentary error of judgment but the perception of another driver is that he or she is driving aggressively. Then suddenly it turns into World War III on the highway. It matters little what causes it; a bad day at the office, a love affair going bad, credit cards maxed to the credit limit. All it takes is a sudden movement of someone else’s wheels, and within seconds a normally mild mannered motorist is consumed with a red-eyed, mouth-foaming surge of anger that grabs more of us every day. Road Rage, something that has always simmered on the back burner of motoring America, is now going off like fireworks.
...ased greatly over the past few years due to factors such as: high rates of poverty, income differentials, illiteracy, gendered cultural practices, discrimination and homelessness.
Every year, thousands of people are injured or killed in car wrecks caused by road rage/ aggressive driving. Despite this fact many people still are impatient and become angry on the road. Driving is a curious display of public and private acts. A car isolates the driver from the world. The personal sensation of power over a couple thousand pound car is intoxicating. Road rage/aggressive driving starts from things such as illegal or improper lane changes, failing to yield the right of way, and excessive speeding just to name a few. Everyday we deal with this type of driving. Everyone runs a great risk just driving around the corner to the local convenience store or just to the local church. According to U.S. News and World Report, the United States Department of Transportation estimates that two-thirds of fatalities are at least partially caused by road rage/ aggressive driving. This essay will look at some of the arguments for and against road rage/aggressive driving.
III. Connection: Everday we have to deal with these people on our roads. We run a great risk just driving around the corner to go to the store or a quiet trip to church. According to U.S. News and World Report, the U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that two-thirds of fatalities are at least partially caused by aggressive driving. Fortunately, there is something we can do about it.