Road Rage: It's Time to Calm Angry Drivers
It must be emphasized that "road rage" and "aggressive driving" are not synonymous. Road rage is uncontrolled anger that results in violence or threatened violence on the road: it is criminal behaviour. On the other hand, aggressive driving does not rise to the level of criminal behaviour. It includes tailgating, abrupt lane changes, and speeding, alone or in combination. Authorities see these potentially dangerous behaviours as traffic offences, but do not define them as criminal behaviour. Some studies in the United States indicate that there is a slightly higher incidence of road rage incidents during the Friday afternoon peak travel times; during fair weather; under moderately congested conditions; and in urban areas. Alcohol and/or drugs were found to be associated with one quarter of the incidents. Law enforcement and education are the most commonly used methods to prevent aggressive driving and road rage. It is only now that lawmakers are beginning to make a distinction between road rage and other forms of aggressive driving. Many maintain that aggressive driving offences are already covered under existing statutes. But one of the primary difficulties in drafting legislation lies in defining offences in a way that is unmistakable to the policeman on the scene. He, after all, is the one who must decide quickly whether an act is violent or aggressive. Motorists, on the other hand, must also feel they are being treated fairly and that fines and penalties are appropriate to the offence. At the moment many countries are conducting research to determine the best strategies for addressing this problem. Mandatory participation in driver education programmes for offenders as well as programmes for novice drivers are being seen as some of the solutions. Many current large-scale efforts include law enforcement and public awareness campaigns through the use of the media. Some consider the radio as an effective voice since its broadcasts can be heard in any vehicle. It is regarded as an excellent messenger against road rage. There is a clear realisation now that law enforcement efforts alone are unlikely to deter potential offenders. But the authorities, while realizing that enforcement is an important element of these programmes, say potential offenders may not improve their road behaviour unless they believe their chances of getting caught and punished for aggressive driving have increased. For people truly interested in improving their driving behaviour, educational and self-help methods are becoming increasingly available in countries such as the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Many of these methods focus on the self-defence aspect of roadway violence and provide valuable information on how to avoid such encounters. Other programmes educate drivers on how their own behaviour may contribute to confrontations. Cellphone hotlines may provide an alternative avenue for venting driver frustration. It is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of these efforts in isolation, because the motorists most likely to access them are probably also the most motivated to improve their driving. Empirical data on the effectiveness of these approaches is lacking. Changes in the roadway environment are also being considered to combat road rage. The most promising appears to be the use of intelligent transportation systems and the use of cameras to enforce the law. The successful use of cameras lies in their ability to detect offenders without the physical presence of a policeman, and the perception by motorists that policemen need not be present, or visible, to enforce road laws. They are likely to be effective in discouraging violent and aggressive driving as well, because offenders may feel that their chances of being detected have increased. The use of this technology allows for a higher level of monitoring without substantially increasing the number of policemen required. There isn’t much documented study material available on the characteristics of road rage incidents. This may be due to the fact that road rage is a relatively new phenomenon. Still, the potentially disastrous consequences of aggressive driving and road rage would seem to require greater expenditures of public funds on research, education, and enforcement. But the need for immediate action in certain areas appears to be clear. Legislation needs to clearly distinguish between aggressive driving and road rage. Clear, unambiguous laws and penalties are needed and the public needs to be educated about the legal consequences. Driver education courses, including those mandated for the re-education of offenders, may be a worthwhile avenue for preventing road rage. More research is needed to determine which programmes are most likely to yield the best results.
Related Topic
|
ROAD rage - a dangerous, comparatively new behavioural pattern - has
become a matter of concern to traffic authorities around the world. Experts
have defined road rage as "an incident in which an angry or impatient
motorist or passenger intentionally injures or kills another motorist,
passenger, or pedestrian, or attempts or threatens to injure or kill another
motorist, passenger, or pedestrian".
