Enjoy The Ride!
The goal of this post is to understand why road rage has become a community concern and what we can do to continue enjoying the ride on the road. I love traveling by road, air, and sea. My wife and I have traveled worldwide, driven more than a million miles on the road, and flown in the air. I have taught at various international locations. When I first started teaching in Nassau, Bahamas, decades ago, I used to walk from the hotel to downtown without any trouble and watch people playing cricket on my way. Today, roads and airports are crowded worldwide, with angry drivers in automobiles and passengers in the plane. Enjoying the ride, whether on the road or in the air, is becoming a thing of the past, and it is difficult to walk or cross the street whether you are in New York, Panama City, Beijing, or Berlin.
When I was young and attending college in California, I drove a hundred miles to work on the weekends for better pay in the big city to cover college expenses. It was a two-hour drive, and I stayed with friends on the weekend. I enjoyed the trip home from work on Sunday night, listening to music from John Denver Country Road’s Take Me Home on the 8-track in my 1968 VW Bug. Times have changed, and roads are not safe anymore. Our grandson was driving to work on the morning of January 22nd and didn’t return home because he was killed in a road rage incident.
Road rage is a growing concern for communities around the country because loved ones are losing lives on the road because of rage. We need a plan to prevent loss of life on the road by developing awareness programs, anger management education, and sharing information on the legal consequences of raging behavior on the road. We need to work with local law enforcement and the legal system to ensure they have a plan to prevent and prosecute the offenders.
We have witnessed road rage several times while driving on the road, and they disappear in the traffic after displaying anger, damaging the vehicle, or hurting people. One afternoon, we were driving on the highway. A driver came so close to a truck in front of us, swiped his driver’s side mirror, and sped away. The seriousness of the actions on the road is realized when you see, feel, and experience it. I believe that labeling the action of the individual on the road who hurt people and killed others as Road Rage is not appropriate because it is the action of a person with anger resulting in injury or death. In other circumstances, when a person kills or attempts to kill someone, that incident is labeled or referred to as attempted murder or murder. If a person poisons someone by mixing it into an alcoholic drink, it is a murder, or it is an attempted murder. We do not label it as Alcoholic Rage. Changing the label Road Rage to Murder on the Road will bring awareness and attention to people with anger issues regarding the severity of the action and the consequences of the actions on the road. I have heard several attorneys representing their clients, even prosecutors on TV, saying it is a case of road rage referring to a case where someone’s loved one was murdered on the road. It is a case of murder, and the use of road rage softens what happened on the road.
Murder on the Road is a concern for all communities around the country, and we must bring awareness to the community to protect innocent people riding their vehicles to accomplish their daily tasks, such as driving to work. To address the situation, we need to understand the problem. Let’s look at the road rage situation rationally. The rage on the road is the result of the anger, and this behavior doesn’t only appear while on the road. Individuals possess this behavior and probably exhibit it at home and the workplace unless there are consequences for their actions. We need anger management education for drivers with anger issues to reduce road rage incidents. People with anger must understand that the energy they use for anger could be used for several other positive outcomes to enjoy life. The best way to manage anger is first to recognize the problem, identify the triggers that lead to anger, and finally learn to manage the anger. They must understand that anger results from individual behavior patterns, so blaming others on a public road is not a rational solution to anger problems. Instead, develop the skills to manage our emotional energy effectively to reduce anger. Always remember that being smart and not angry is critical for avoiding incidents on the road.
The HALT approach was developed by StopRage.org, which stands for Home, Anger, Legal and Law, and Tragedy. It is an excellent approach because it reminds people that good and bad behavior is learned at home, and if it is not recognized and addressed at home, it will lead to public roads. Anger is a negative emotion, and when a large amount of energy with high intensity is directed towards anger, it results in negative outcomes on the road, such as road rage. Legal and law enforcement agencies play a critical role in deterrence and punishment to control the rage on the road. Finally, road rage incident results in tragedy, and it occurs on both sides, and the aggressor faces the consequences. Managing anger helps prevent a tragedy on both sides.???????????????
Driver frustration is expected on the road, whether in London, New York, Berlin, Sydney, Hong Kong, Beijing, Mexico City, or other parts of the world. It results from population growth, increased automobile ownership, workforce growth, and business activity expansion. We are human beings, and when we are in crowded public spaces, the level of anger and anxiety increases. We must learn to manage emotional energy to reduce conflict in public places and save energy used for anger to accomplish good things in life. You can manage anger and control the gas pedal and steering to navigate safely while keeping others on the road safe.
Thanks.
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