Road Rage: When Emotion Control Runs Amok

Dear Dr. LeCrone:

I believe that some side effects of a rotten economy put more stress on people and result in unbridled anger and reduced emotional control.

As a long-haul trucker, I often witness the terrible consequences of road rage.

My observations are that road rage is often triggered when drivers weave in and out of traffic and make improper lane changes, cut other drivers off, follow too closely, fail to yield right of way, unnecessarily honk their horns, block and drive in passing lanes, fail to dim headlights when following other cars or encountering oncoming traffic, and make obscene gestures to other drivers. The offended driver then ignites an “I’ll show you who is boss” mind-set and challenges the other driver to a battle.

Is road rage a mental illness?

-A reader in Indiana

Dear Reader:

Technically, road rage is not a diagnosable mental illness. However, the behaviors displayed by people exhibiting road rage and aggressive driving are often indicative of underlying emotional problems.

Dueling with an automobile is a sign of a driver whose emotional control has run amok. Sometimes described as road bullies, people who display road rage and aggressive driving often get behind the wheel and, when offended, express their pent-up anger and frustration with potentially lethal weapons, their automobiles.

Couple this with impairment due to alcohol or drug use by either driver, and you have a time bomb looking for a place to explode.

We live in a society where stresses, time urgency and media demonstrations of conflict resolution by violence are all too prevalent.

Avoid high-risk drivers whenever possible. Get out of their way, stay out of their way and let them take their reckless behavior somewhere away from you. Keep their displaced anger from affecting you, and resist the temptation to retaliate.

Don’t let these driving time bombs get under your skin, but seek to depersonalize their behavior. Their rage and aggressive road behavior is directed at everyone, not just you. Getting into a power struggle with them will not change them and can end in disaster for you and other passengers. If you encountered an angry, out-of-control person who was carrying a loaded gun or a bomb, would you try to engage this person or hurry to get out of the way?

Drive courteously, and try to avoid the precipitants of road rage. Avoid road rage yourself by not letting your emotions affect your driving.