Road rage has to do with the way we experience public space. That space is no longer a social space and no social rules or norms of politeness apply. Because we feel safe in the cocoon of our own car, it is relatively easy to act aggressively towards other, anonymous road users.
Road rage
The behavioral scientists J. Dollard, L. Doob, N. Miller O. Mowrer and R. Sears launched one of the most popular and oldest views on aggression in 1939. When they are frustrated, people attack other people.
What could be easier than to do violence to the person who has this on his conscience? However, according to these behavioral scientists, not every frustration will lead to an aggressive response. People are more likely to suppress their aggression if they know that this behavior can lead to a punishment or fine. The view that frustration can be a trigger for aggression may partly explain the increasing road rage. Traffic is becoming more complex by the day. Kilometers of traffic jams, an acute lack of parking spaces, increasing car mobilization, etc. Apparently there are plenty of reasons to get stressed.
Traffic jams on the road lead to aggression
Road rage is a complex, increasingly disturbing problem in our society. When the media talk about aggression, they mean a whole range of behaviors. The Belgian Road Safety Institute (BIVV) includes two forms of behavior under the heading of road aggression. On the one hand, aggression in traffic, an expression of aggression, physical, verbal or non-verbal:
- following a traffic conflict, for example vandalism or inappropriate gestures. We also call this emotional aggression.
- Other aggressive traffic behavior, behavior of road users who are (intentionally) aggressive or are experienced as such, also called instrumental aggression.
Factors that can cause road rage can be found inside and outside traffic. The BRSI calls the factors driving stress , such as traffic jams, congestion, behavior of other road users and traffic.
Driver stress , for example being in a hurry, stress at work, problems at home, emotions or tensions. But the special feeling we have when we are in the car can also be a factor. For example, it is relatively easy to attack an anonymous driver, because we feel too safe in the cocoon of our own vehicle. Things are a bit different in the traffic jam at the checkout in the supermarket. If we get angry there, the other customers will probably quickly curb our anger. On the road we move and almost always think we can escape.
In addition, we can distinguish ourselves socially with the car . With a firm step on the accelerator, we can go super fast in no time. The feeling of strength and vitality gives us an enormous kick. Young men in particular use the kick to show their power. A car is sometimes a second partner, a second personal possession. A private domain on the public road. We can do whatever we want with it.
Advertising can reinforce those feelings. The Belgian Minister of Mobility and Transport, Isabelle Durant, touched on the role of advertising in a speech at a study day at the BRSI. Some car brands even encourage people to drive fast. But buyers of super sports cars with perfect handling and a tempting top speed are often disappointed when they are stuck in traffic jams every day. Driving fast is no longer an option, and that leads to frustration for many.
The drivers get upset about it and, because they cannot do with the car what they bought it for, they become aggressive. It is high time to return the car to its roots and rediscover its original identity. The car, like a washing machine or iron, is a useful appliance, nothing more.
Aggressive together?
Even the weather can cause road rage. Thunderstorms can play an important role. A Swiss research center conducted a number of experiments in the Lugano region, where relatively many thunderstorms occur. The drivers who participated were less concentrated during thunderstorms, showed weakened coordination skills and appeared to be particularly restless and much more irritable.
We should also not overlook personality traits when talking about road rage. Someone who is aggressive by nature will also behave more aggressively in traffic. Aggression, on the other hand, appears to decrease with age.
In 1977 the so-called Zebra experiment was carried out in the Netherlands. In this experiment, motorists were – for real – obliged to stop for pedestrians walking across the zebra crossing. The researchers looked at the behavior of the drivers. Twenty-five percent appeared to behave aggressively. This behavior was more common among drivers under the age of forty and more common toward male pedestrians than toward female ones. The researchers also noted more aggressive drivers in the afternoon than in the morning. Those who were driving for work were more aggressive than drivers who were making a private trip.
Road rage has something to do with the way we experience public space. That space is no longer a social space and no social rules or norms of politeness apply. We do not hesitate to overtake other road users via the hard shoulder or to bump into the bumper of someone else’s car if we think that car is not going fast enough.
We haven’t always been this aggressive. At the beginning of this century, we still experienced public space as a social space . There were standards of politeness for dealing with each other. But it came to an end, the space became instrumentalized. Roads became highways, squares became parking spaces. That space now only has one function:
- Getting from A to B as quickly as possible causes us to experience inhibitions and obstacles as deeply frustrating.
- We do not see other road users as participants in a shared space, but as an obstacle that stands in the way of our freedom.
We often become angry because the behavior of others is, at least in our eyes, wrong. Because traffic is becoming more complex every day, there are more and more moments when we see others making a mistake, so aggressive behavior also occurs more often in that traffic.
Tailgating and driving on the left
There are actually no concrete figures about the extent of the road rage problem. However, there are surveys showing that most people believe that road rage has increased. Research by the BRSI shows that eighty percent of Belgian drivers have already had to deal with road rage or aggressive traffic behavior. Eighty percent say they have never been aggressive on the road. It’s just the other road users who drive so rudely.
In July 1994, the Catholic University of Leuven conducted a survey among ten thousand road users. Tailgating and driving in the left lane while the right is free score the highest in terms of annoyances for motorists. The Dutch are also most bothered by tailgating. This is evident from a 1993 ANWB study. In addition, they are particularly annoyed by driving too fast. According to that study, staying on the left and merging too abruptly for others are the most common reasons for aggressive behavior.
Road rage is also investigated at European level. According to a survey conducted by the RYD-Secura Forum among ten thousand motorists in sixteen countries in 1999, three out of four motorists stated that they were annoyed by other drivers . Fifty-four percent change lanes without signaling. Forty-nine percent find it particularly annoying when other motorists stay in the left lane for as long as possible and only turn right at the very last moment to take the exit.
In the city, sixty-four percent are extremely annoyed when motorists enter a crowded intersection and block the road for motorists coming from another direction. According to Social Attitudes to Road Traffic Risk in Europe (SARTRE), in 1991, eighty-two percent of men surveyed were sometimes upset about other drivers, as were seventy-eight percent of women. In 1996 these percentages were seventy-one and seventy-nine percent respectively.
In 1999, Israeli traffic researcher David Shinar stated that when the vehicle in front does not accelerate fast enough at a green light, Israelis honk their horn twice as fast as Americans. However, the scientist does not believe that his compatriots have become more aggressive. According to him, the fact that aggression in traffic and elsewhere is increasingly emerging is due to environmental factors. Motorization is spreading worldwide, while free mobility is increasingly hampered.
The most recent figures on road rage come from the United States. The American research agency Zogby asked 1,236 Americans which driving behavior makes them most aggressive. 23.7 percent absolutely hate tailgaters, and 21 percent are annoyed by the use of mobile phones in the car. It is striking that driving slowly causes more annoyance than driving fast, 13.1 versus 7.4 percent respectively.
Combat road rage?
What can we do specifically to combat road rage? If we want to tackle the problem by its horns, we must clearly identify the various forms of road rage and their causes. In addition, it is necessary to focus on both the traffic situation and the individual. It is important that road users, and not just motorists, realize that the problem lies with them. Furthermore, we must learn to resolve provocative, aggressive situations in a non-aggressive manner. And if we just realize that the car is just a convenient means of transport and nothing more than that, we will probably come a long way.
It would be good to also confront children and young people with road rage. This concerns special programs at schools and driving schools, aimed at preventing road rage. In the information activities that the ANWB organizes for its members, the emphasis is always on the role that people play in hindering others, whether consciously or not. Other examples of Dutch educational initiatives are the zipper campaign and a campaign against tailgating. With zippers, all cars drive at the same speed and irritation about, for example, merging can be prevented. The second action tries to tackle tailgaters and asks the question whether they really like having a car behind them so close.
In addition, repression or enforcement remains indispensable. Increasing the chance of being caught and implementing an efficient prosecution and punishment policy should make aggressive driving behavior more unattractive. In the Netherlands, in the Annoyance Team project, and in Ghent, the police film motorists driving too aggressively and then invite them to watch their own driving behavior on video. Very confrontational, but definitely worth it.
The results show that most drivers have no idea of the dangers to which they expose their fellow road users. To record this antisocial driving behavior, the Ghent police use an anonymous vehicle equipped with a camera. This makes it possible to detect unacceptable driving behavior while driving at the scene of the accident. Of course, it remains difficult to detect all aggressive or discourteous behavior in traffic. Aggressive behavior is difficult to define and is usually short-lived and elusive.
Perhaps the best way to tackle road rage is to tackle the problem at its origins, namely improving the mobility of all road users. This also means making it clear that the car is not the only means of transport. You can walk, and there are also bicycles and public transport. The government must therefore take the necessary decisions to improve public transport and make cycling and walking a lot more attractive. Improving the roads can also contribute to a solution. To avoid conflict situations, unclear or confusing traffic situations should be avoided.
Some, such as the ethicist Koen Raes, do not believe in this at all. Hundreds of measures may be taken, as long as we do not experience public space as social, nothing will change our driving behavior. He is even considering leaving the traffic jams for what they are. In fact, the more traffic jams, the better. Until we start to get so annoyed that we eventually trade in the car for public transport.
Numerous individuals and organizations have already addressed road rage and continue to do so. Road rage seems like a problem that we can describe in detail, but there is no real solution yet. Further research is therefore necessary. Only with such research can we truly understand the problem, better assess its enormous importance and come up with real solutions.