Why do some drivers allow road rage to take over?
Barry Markell refers to himself as a reformed finger-giver.
Markell, a clinical psychologist who treats patients with road rage, never used to think twice about his responses when someone cut him off in traffic — but now that’s changed.
“One of the things that reformed me was seeing people leaning out of cars and shooting at each other,” Markell said. “You don’t know who’s in that car and what they’re capable of.”
Those varying points on the rage continuum — from yelling and hand gestures to recklessness and violence — have been topics of conversation in Milwaukee in recent months. In fact, the Milwaukee Police Department acknowledged that road rage underpinned two shooting incidents, one that resulted in a fatality, this summer.
According to Milwaukee native and Milwaukee Police Capt. Willie Murphy, incidents where road rage is a contributing factor seem to have increased slightly in his 221⁄2 years on the job. But since there’s no statute that involves road rage, he said it’s hard to statistically track these events and associated trends.
In many cases, road rage incidents start as traffic incidents where property damage occurs, but the situation then escalates quickly. In these instances, Murphy encouraged people to remember that property can be replaced but lives cannot.
“Calmer heads need to prevail,” Murphy said. “Folks need to take a step back, breathe and understand they can move beyond the situation. You’re responsible for your level of anger and you need to control it.”
In a survey from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 78% of U.S. drivers have engaged in at least one aggressive driving behavior in the past year. The actual percentage is likely higher; due to the negative connotations of aggressive driving, drivers may underreport their actions.
But while aggression is the first step toward road rage, the root — from a scientific perspective — has to do with inhibition or the lack of it.
“Psychologists classify road rage as a mental breakdown, but the psychiatric definition doesn’t acknowledge that it’s a voluntary thing.” Leon James University of Hawaii professor
In other words, aggression is a fundamental aspect of human behavior, but it can be checked by a person’s sense of what is socially acceptable. Behind the wheel, for whatever reason, that check isn’t happening for some people; they give themselves permission to act outside societal norms.
“Road rage is based in the psychology of people and their mental health,” Markell said.
Sociologists blame that mindset on the splintering of society and the disintegration of shared values and sense of community. Psychologists blame the intoxicating combination of power and anonymity provided by motor vehicles. There is truth in both perspectives.
Road rage isn’t the only rage that people experience. Shopping rage, walking rage and air rage are also rampant.
So why don’t we hear much about supermarket squabbles, sidewalk skirmishes and airplane altercations?
According to Markell, “It’s a sense of being observed that helps inhibit people.”
Markell explained that when a selfish shopper brings 30 items to a 10 item or less checkout lane or a customer fumbles around looking for a checkbook or coupons, the person in line behind them may silently fill with rage. But that person refrains from acting out because of social conventions, fear of embarrassment, even public video surveillance.
With driving, there is some sense of community. But put someone behind steel body panels and tinted windows, and there is just enough anonymity to change the equation. Research has shown anonymity propels individuals to engage in more aggressive, less inhibited behavior.
“People give themselves permission to express anger and hostility,” said Leon James, a University of Hawaii professor known as “Dr. Driving” who studies traffic and driving psychology. “I think it’s the cultural movement that’s going on with respect to freedom of expression and respect to individual entitlement. People feel they’re entitled as a free individual to be mad in the face of injustice. So they feel free to express hostility whereas before these feelings were repressed.”
Murphy also feels that culture plays a role in the daily driving habits and communication.
“We are in a day and age where our ability to communicate seems to be compromised. Unlike in the past, we are in a ‘tweet-tweet’ and a ‘likeand-dislike’ world where face-to-face conversations aren’t big,” he said. “My perception is that could be having a little bit of an impact in regard to us not being able to be good conflict resolvers when we are face-to-face with each other.”
Add to this the fact that communication between drivers is primitive at best — blaring horns, obscene hand gestures, flickering lights and four-letter words that no one else can hear — and people, in James’ words, “let it fly.”
Road rage may start when drivers feel like they’ve been pushed around and they decide that they’re not going to take that injustice.
“Psychologists classify road rage as a mental breakdown, but the psychiatric definition doesn’t acknowledge that it’s a voluntary thing,” James said.
Further, James said, children imbibe their parents’ patterns.
“The back seat is road rage nursery because that’s where the kids are and they quickly pick up our actions,” James said. “You are a role model when you drive your kids.”
In addition to demonstrating considerate behavior, Murphy encouraged parents to have conversations with their teen drivers about establishing good habits, paying attention to their driving situation and using common sense. For example, leave in plenty of time to get to destinations so speeding isn’t necessary, be a courteous driver and know what to do if targeted by an aggressive driver.
Murphy said the best things to do in those situations are: stay calm, ignore the aggressive driver and let the situation pass. If the aggressive driver’s license plate number can be recorded, report it to police. For the Milwaukee Police Department, the nonemergency number is (414) 933-4444.
But do not use aggressive driving tactics, such as tailgating, to obtain the number.