Essay on road rage and violence

Hamzelou (26) reported a sharp increase in road rage from the 1990s to 2015. Indicating a per annum increase of 7% in road rage in the US. Moreover, a report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety indicated that more than 200 deaths and approximately 120,000 injuries resulted from road rage in 1990 (Mizell, Joint, & Connell 12). A recent study by the AAA Foundation which explored police reports in the whole country reported an average of 1,200 cases of road rage, more than half of the cases causing fatalities and serious injuries (as cited in Hamzelou 23). Furthermore, the report indicated a sharp increase in reported road rage cases within six years of the survey. On the other hand, hostile aggression is demonstrated by acts such as loud and unreasonable hooting, abusive comments and gestures, cutting traffic, other disrespectful violations of the rights of other drivers.

Often, acts of hostile aggression are performed in response to perceived provocations. Previous studies have demonstrated that personality traits can be used to predict the emotional and behavioral aspects of road rages and the actions of aggressive drivers. In her study, Dittmann notes that people who are calm and reasonable drivers are sometimes exposed to certain triggers that turn them into aggressive and high anger drivers, culminating in violent gestures, uncontrolled honking, and hurling of insults putting their lives and that of their aggressors in danger. Thus, in his study, Dittmann (24) focusses the research on the character, rapaciousness, and violent nature of high angry drivers. For instance, the report indicated that people who love name calling, cursing, people who drive while stressed, and those who honk repeatedly demonstrated aggressive behavior and were most likely to cause road rage.

It was also found that such people who got angry at least twice a day were most likely to respond with aggressiveness when slightly provoked by other drivers. Other studies have linked a combination of factors like age, traffic, gender, ethnicity, and status of both the aggressor and the victim among the leading causes of road rage. For instance, Hennessy and Wiesenthal (410) demonstrated that traffic jams and delays led to frustrations leading to escalation of aggressive driving. In the study, the researcher examined the behavior of drivers where the car in front of them delays to move under the green light. During the relaxation phases, Dittmann teaches people who consider themselves as high angry drivers basic relaxation techniques applicable in intense, high risk, and stressful driving situations.

In the cognitive training sessions, relaxation techniques are taught with the addition of come cognitive change skills. Thus the combination of relaxation and cognitive measures were found to be effective suggesting that relaxation and cognitive and relaxation interventions could prevent surges of anger behind the wheel reducing incidents of road rage. Another control and management of road rage is through modification of the behavior of aggressive drivers (Galovski and Blanchard 110). Over the years, attempts in the modification of driver aggressiveness focused on the role of traffic police in enforcement and in education. Thus, it is important that the physician realizes that stress is likely to impair a driver increasing the likelihood of aggressive driving behavior with dangerous outcomes on the individual driver or other road users.

Unfortunately, this intervention is likely to be impeded by the doctor-patient confidentiality as well as the fact that most cases of road rage linked to personality disorders are detected after accidents (Goldberg 310). However, psychiatrists could convince their patients to voluntarily refrain from driving until their full driving abilities restore. While the review of the science of road rage, its causes, and interventions has demonstrated that road rage is a source of concern, it can be understood that road rage remains one of the most sidelined issue in road safety. For instance, of all the cause of road rage discussed earlier it can be understood that personality traits remains a critical aspect that must an area of focus in effecting positive modification of aggressive driving behavior.