BY KEVIN SAWYER – Sadly, road rage has become all the rage. It is everywhere as more and more people seem incapable of dealing with normal stress levels. People continue to isolate themselves in their little self absorbed bubble worlds and seem more and more incapable of civilized behavior. Driving the roads of America has become a lot more hazardous than it used to be.
People, for the most part, need to begin to get a serious grip on themselves and realize that there are other people in the world beside themselves. They need to realize that their behavior may directly affect the life of another human being, So, ask yourself these questions, if of course, you are actually capable of self reflection:
- Are you always up someone’s you-know-what or flashing your headlights because you think the driver in front of you isn’t moving fast enough for you?
- Does a yellow traffic light indicate to you that you should press down on the accelerator and blow through the intersection before you are inconvenienced by a red light?
- Do you run stop signs or do the ol’ rolling stop? Are you a horn honker?
- Are you constantly yelling at people as you blow by them or giving them the finger?
If so, you are likely a potential trigger of road rage. You will either trigger it on yourself or you will force someone to have to violently deal with your rude and self centered behavior. You aren’t the victim here. You’re the cause.
Let’s try these questions:
- Do you always drive with your high beams on even if another vehicle is approaching you?
- Are you always cutting people off? Never use your turn signal?
- Are you always on the phone or changing the channel on the radio, or putting on make up or eating or any of the million other distracted driving things people are doing?
If so, you are a road rage ignition switch. You are a sad and pathetic incident waiting to happen.
Here are a few recent stats that might interest you:
- Nearly 70% of all traffic accidents leading to death are caused by aggressive driving and road rage.
- Nearly 40% of road rage incidents involve guns.
- Teenage boys are the most likely to be the direct cause of a road rage incident.
- About 50% of the drivers who suffer road rage abuse actually end up being abusive themselves.
- In the last seven years, 218 murders have been attributed to road rage incidents as well over 12,000 serious injuries across the country.
PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay