Road Rage and the Inevitability of Human Conflict

I am an impatient driver – not one of my better qualities.  The other day I sped up to pass a car on the right side and when I changed back into his lane the driver flipped me the bird.  As he drove behind me, I could see him yelling something and gesticulating furiously.  I hadn’t endangered anyone and he didn’t have to slow down.  In fact, he sped up when he saw that I was going to pass him.  He was just angry on principle, or perhaps because he has a lot of anger in him – a classic case of road rage.

Road rage is ubiquitous.  What does it tell us about people?  Much of the time road rage erupts after seemingly innocuous driving maneuvers.  For example, if one pulls out in front of another car and causes that driver to have to slow down a bit.  Or if one cuts in front of a car with less space than that driver feels is necessary.  Or even if one is driving slowly and another car wants to get by.  Most of the time road rage is not sparked by an unsafe or dangerous situation.  The reaction is generally wildly disproportionate to the cause.  

 

Why do we human beings get so angry in these situations?  There is an anonymity in driving that perhaps contributes to the often apoplectic behavior of a road rager.  With no one to moderate or judge our behavior, perhaps we feel free to liberate our inner demons.  Living under control in society and within a family may bottle up our frustrations and regrets.  In theory, driving alone in a car may be the perfect time to let loose and use the catharsis of road rage to purge our psyche.

 

But road rage doesn’t just occur when people are alone in their cars, and I would bet that only a minority of people are actually seized by the incandescent raving that one frequently sees on the roads.  No, I believe that road rage is an expression of a scarred human being, one who has some profound anger and frustration that lurks just below the surface, needing only the slightest perceived offense to gush forth.

 

But sadly, although a minority, the road rage people comprise enough of the human race to ensure the propagation of human conflict.  These are the same people who see every slight as a provocation to fight, who perceive signs of disrespect everywhere, whose first instinct in any conflict or disagreement is to lash out and go to battle.

 

None of us is psychologically untainted.  We all have our neuroses, fears, pet peeves, insecurities and deep-seated psychic idiosyncrasies.  But most of us don’t lose our minds when someone cuts in front of us and makes us slow down a bit.  Those who do are the first to escalate conflict, to rapturously call out the dogs of war.  It is the challenge of humanity to minimize the impact of the road rage contingent, recognize the signs of their damaged souls and keep them away from positions of leadership or authority.  Human conflict may be inevitable, but it can be contained.