Top Road Rage Excuses – Documented Evidence
I thought I saw (or heard) it all, until I found this study on road rage excuses. Yes, I’m guilty of coming up with an excuse or two over the years myself, but this is ridiculous. And the sad part is- it’s all true! You have to see this study and read the crazy excuses these road-ragers gave for their reasons why they lost all self control. It’s simply crazy!
I think the problem is, a lot of people think road rage is caused by someone who pisses them off. But the fact is, as far as the law is concerned, it is the one who gets pissed off that is in the wrong.
For the past 30+ years of driving, ten years of supervising drivers, and ten years that I have been writing for 10-4 Magazine, I’ve seen plenty of surveys and reports about aggressive driving and road rage. I recently came across this older report which was, in my opinion, the single best study on road rage ever put together. Still to this day, there has never been anything done that was as extensive or as believable.
Way back in 1997, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (yes, they are affiliated with AAA Motor Club) released the results of a study called Aggressive Driving: Three Studies. The first part was conducted for the Foundation by Mizell & Co. International Security, a Bethesda, Maryland-based firm which specializes in tracking crime and terrorism trends. Most of the firm’s research work is done for law enforcement and national security agencies.
Mizell & Co. has a database of newspaper and police reports on all kinds of crimes dating back to January of 1990. From that date through 1996, they compiled every “violent aggressive driver” report in their database (10,037 incidents) where someone intentionally caused harm to a person or property in a moment of rage. They did not included any incident where damage or injury was done as the result of a simple accident, drunk driving, or even violent crimes – so keep in mind, this report focuses only on incidents where a person lost their temper and used hands, feet, a car, a gun, or any weapon at hand against another person or property – on purpose. Most of us call it road rage, but for the purpose of this study, it’s called violent aggressive driving (and rightfully so).
There are a lot of statistics on this subject of violent aggressive driving, and most show an increase in road rage incidents, as does this one. Each year, these violent acts reportedly increase by an average of about 7% annually. And they happen everywhere, not just in urban areas. This AAA study is the only one that I know of that analyzed actual police reports, and gives the actual reason for the rage, according to the culprits themselves. They didn’t number them by order of frequency, but they listed the so-called excuses people tried to use that had at least twenty-five incidents which resulted in death or injury.
And, here they are: It was an argument over a parking space; He cut me off; She wouldn’t let me pass; He hit my car, so I shot him to death; Nobody gives me the finger; He was playing the radio too loud, so I shot him; He was playing his Keith Sweat CD too loud, (really? Keith Sweat playing too loud in a car is a reason for violence? Loud music, and in a car for that matter, should never result in violence!); He kept honking and honking his horn; She was driving too slowly; He wouldn’t turn off his high beams; They kept tailgating me; I would have never shot him if he hadn’t rear-ended me; He practically ran me off the road – what was I supposed to do; We was dissed (often used by teenagers who murdered a passenger in another vehicle). Those are the dumbest “excuses” I have ever heard!
When it comes to weapons of choice, according to this study, the most common weapon used is a firearm (37%), or a car (35%). But just about every conceivable weapon has been used including fists and feet, tire irons and jack handles, baseball bats, knives, bayonets, ice picks and swords, beer and booze bottles, canes, wrenches, hatchets and golf clubs (to name a few). However, it bears mentioning that in other studies I’ve seen, a car is usually the weapon of choice. But this time it came in second.
The report also made mention that most of the people who used a firearm were normal, law-abiding people who carried a weapon just for protection, and would have likely never used it if they didn’t feel provoked somehow. Among those who made the list is actor Jack Nicholson. He thought another driver had cut him off and retaliated by stepping out of his car at a red light, grabbing a golf club, and striking the windshield and roof of the offender’s vehicle.
I know most of you must be thinking there are some crazy people out there. And yes, I’d have to agree. But I also think we are all a little crazy sometimes. And anybody can be pushed over the edge. We all draw a line somewhere in the proverbial sand, that, when someone crosses it, we fight. The problem is, when we drive, we become our vehicle. I think of the old adage, fight or flight. In normal life situations, when confronted in one way or another, we all have the standard “fight or flight” reaction to danger. But, given the power and protection of 3,500 pounds of steel around us, anyone can become a fighter.
The report also had some good advice on how to avoid road rage incidents – “Don’t cut off other drivers” was listed as the number one thing to remember. Being cut off seems to irritate drivers more than anything else. And, speaking from personal experience, I know it is the number one thing that irritates truckers, too. Well, here are some other helpful bits of advice to avoid a road rage incident.
Don’t change lanes without signaling, and if you do, wave a quick “thank you” to the other person. Also, don’t block the passing lane, stay to the right. Don’t tailgate – dozens of deadly road rage incidents started with a tailgater. Don’t tell them they are number one with an obscene gesture – this silly little act has got many people shot, stabbed or beaten. Use your horn sparingly – scores of shootings began with a driver honking. Don’t allow your door to strike a parked car – dings can enrage some people out there. Don’t use your high beams to punish other drivers. Don’t let your mobile phone distract you – drivers hate fender-benders with motorists who were talking on the phone.
Learn to stay calm while driving and avoid confrontations. If you sense a motorist getting angry, avoid eye contact, turn the corner, or slow down and let them go ahead. You never know what’s on a person’s mind – they might even be a firefighter or a doctor on their way to an emergency. Give aggressive drivers a wide berth, just in case.
Be careful out there.
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I get road rage. But see what I do is i get my car up to 5 over and set my cruise. If you cant do at least 5 over you got no business being on the road. Someone who sits at the speed limit or under is being selfish. He knows the drivers behind him wanna go faster and does not care. So drivers like that i normally ride right up on them and if that dont work theyre gonna get a good dose of my horn and a gesture when they finally get passed.
People need to realize that they have no right to hold people up. Move over or get out of the way if youre gonna be a slow ass. Otherwise you deserve whatever happens to you
You, my friend, are the perpetrator. It shouldn’t matter how idiotic a driver is, how slow, fast, crazy. This is the key as far as the law is concerned- THE ONE WHO LOSES HIS TEMPER IS THE CRIMINAL.
You need help! Patience is a skill. You have to practice it to get good at it.
I mostly do 5 over myself. However, if I get behind a person doing the speed limit it doesn’t bother me. I just do the math… If I were to stay here for an entire hour I would lose exactly 5 minutes out of my life.
Are you behind that slowpoke for an hour? If not, you REALLY need to start doing some math, practice patience, and get a hold of yourself.
Let’s do some more math… If you are not behind that slowpoke for an hour, divide that hour by 60 (minutes)… Every minute you stay behind him, you lose exactly ONE SECOND. Can you spare ONE SECOND?
In this article about road rage excuses for having it are discussed. Well I propose that road rage is an excuse itself…an excuse to vent the anger & frustration of having to get up to another day of total BS & you’re probably just totally peeved about the way life is in general. So there you are… already aggravated up to your ears with this feeling, & there’s nobody specific to hold responsible for it. Then some fool cuts you off, almost causing a rollover, & it’s like pushing the red button. All the frustration in life is that persons fault at that moment. Touch an injured dog & get your hand bit you know? Road rage is just the tip of the iceberg…it’s the frustration of living in a rush rush, faster, faster, get out my way…self serving societal situation that’s behind the facade of so-called road rage. In other words a lot of individuals are on the edge to begin with & just one little push is all it takes to topple them over the edge.
Very well said. I totally agree.
It’s hard to believe such trivial issues would cause someone to injury or murder another person! But we have all been guilty of road rage, to some degree or another, before. The best thing to do is remember that none of it is personal.