Road rage is a very real and dangerous thing, but according to a new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, it’s much worse than we thought. Nearly 80 percent of drivers have expressed significant anger, aggression, or road rage behind the wheel at least once in the past year, and approximately 8 million Americans engaged in acts of extreme road rage, such as ramming another vehicle or confronting another driver. In other words, misery loves company.
“Inconsiderate driving, bad traffic and the daily stresses of life can transform minor frustrations into dangerous road rage,” said Jurek Grabowski, director of research for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “Far too many drivers are losing themselves in the heat of the moment and lashing out in ways that could turn deadly.”
The level of aggressive driving varies among different age groups and genders, but the AAA claims that male motorists aged 19-39 are significantly more likely to let their emotions get the better of them on the road. Overall, purposefully tailgating, yelling at another driver, and making angry gestures are the most common manifestations of road rage. Bumping or ramming another vehicle is the least likely scenario, but the AAA estimates nearly 5.7 million drivers have done it in the past year. Yikes.
Read more: Feeling road rage set on? Instagram trends reveal you’re not alone
Perhaps the most sobering statistic is the following: Nearly two in three drivers believe that road rage is a bigger problem today than it was three years ago. So unfortunately, this could be one issue that will get worse before it gets better.
Editors' Recommendations
- Intel Arc Alchemist may be a lot cheaper than we thought
- Saturn’s moon Titan may be more Earth-like than we thought
- Water could have been on Mars more recently than we thought
- AMD’s new AM5 socket may be more backward compatible than we thought
- Steam Deck is much more powerful than we thought, per spec correction
