Road rage

Nature

Road rage, a term coined by the media, describes explosive outbursts of anger by frustrated motorists. People experiencing road rage have deliberately damaged property by reckless driving, and have assaulted others, sometimes with fatal results.

Background

The application of the term "road rage" appears to have first been used in Los Angeles, USA, where, in a number of much publicized incidents, frustrated drivers shot or otherwise assaulted other drivers, whom they perceived as persecutors, whether with specific cause or not.

Incidence

A 1996 study in the UK stated that, in one year, 250,000 drivers were attacked by other drivers, and another 250,000 had their cars deliberately damaged by other drivers. The report declared that almost three quarters of all drivers in the UK had been the victim of road rage at some time.

Claim

The road is a wonderful displacement arena. If your life is chaotic, in shambles or threatening, where better to play it out but on the road?

Counter-claim

To focus on road rage without paying attention to the enormous commercial interests that are promoting higher speeds as a way of selling souped-up cars is to miss the point.