AS TRAFFIC slows motorists, an increasing number of normally law-abiding citizens are engaging in road rage.
Mike is an intelligent and physically fit guy. The 29-year-old Toronto resident enjoys running and playing volleyball. He volunteers at a boy’s club one night a week and teaches high school social studies, physical and special education. Inside the classroom, the youthful exuberance of Mike’s students rarely cracks his cool and unflappable demeanour.
But something happens to Mike when he sits behind the wheel of a car. The usually articulate and stoic man transforms into a frustrated, obscenity-spewing roughneck.
“I’m actually quite patient, quite calm,” he says before setting off on a Sunday drive. “Maybe when I’m driving, it all comes out.”
Statistics Canada reports the average length of a round trip from home to work in major cities increased by almost 17 percent between 1992 and 2005. As traffic congestion slows motorists to a crawl, an increasing number of normally law-abiding citizens are engaging in road rage: aggressive and sometimes violent road behaviour attempting to injure or intimidate another driver.
By his own admission, Mike experiences some degree of road rage every time he drives a car.
On this particular Sunday, he loses his cool before he even starts the engine when a motorist pulls up behind his parked vehicle.
How angry are you behind the wheel?
This quiz was designed by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, in conjunction with the OPP, to help drivers test their level of road rage.
Answer each of the following 10 true or false questions:
1. I often mutter to myself about other drivers.
2. I get irritated a lot while driving.
3. When I’m in a traffic jam, I tend to get angry or frustrated.
(Add 1 point for each question marked “true” above.)
4. When I’m in a hurry, I sometimes tailgate.
5. I often honk at other vehicles to express my anger.
6. When I’m angry, I sometimes drive in a rude manner.
7. I often give the finger to others when driving.
(Add 2 points for each question marked “true” above.)
8. I often take risks on the road when I’m angry.
9. When I get mad, all rules “go out the window”.
10. I have fought with another motorist.
(Add 4 points for each question marked “true” above.)
Add the point totals: __ This is your road rage score.
What does your road rage score mean?
Score = 0 BLUE: You are a sea of tranquility.
Score = 1–2 GREEN: You are cool and collected most of the time.
Score = 3–5 YELLOW: Caution! Your rising anger affects safety and health.
Score = 6 and higher RED: DANGER! Your anger threatens lives. Reduce your stress!
“Go around me you (expletive) idiot,” Mike screams as he motions to the other driver with his hands.
A 2003 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) study of Ontario motorists found that GTA adults between the ages of 18 and 34 were the likeliest people to make rude gestures or verbally abuse other drivers. The study also found the group to be the most likely victims of similar acts.
Before driving off, Mike takes care to adjust his mirrors and move his seat to a comfortable position. He clicks his seatbelt in before heading out on the crowded streets of midtown Toronto.
On the road, Mike drives like a textbook motorist: his car moves within the speed limit, he waits behind vehicles making left turns rather than darting around them, he drives with ample space to the car in front of him, and slows to let other motorists into his lane.
For Mike, his driving isn’t the problem. Other drivers are the problem.
While waiting at a traffic light on Avenue Rd., Mike glares disapprovingly at a driver who has stopped their minivan on the bustling street to deliver a parcel at a nearby house. With a less-travelled residential road only 10 metres away, Mike can’t comprehend why the driver would knowingly block a busy lane of traffic.
“I get more frustrated at the lack of consideration, the lack of respect,” he says. “You see people that have no business … acting like idiots in their cars.”
Time urgency also appears to contribute to a driver’s sense of frustration. For 30 years, Sergeant Cam Woolley of the Ontario Provincial Police has patrolled 400-series highways around Toronto. While Woolley concedes road rage has always been a part of life on the highways, the problem has magnified as time-pressed motorists move farther away from their downtown Toronto offices in pursuit of larger homes.
“They’re willing to travel further and further to attain this lifestyle so they’re spending more time in their cars,” he said. “The time has to come from … work, rest or play, but everybody wants the money so it’s coming from their chance to rest or play.”
Scorching summer weather doesn’t help, the OPP says.
“Keep your cool: road rage incidents tend to increase with temperature,” the OPP advised in a recent statement. “Stay hydrated and always have enough bottled water for everyone in your vehicle.
“If another driver does something dangerous, report it to police.”
A driver’s anonymity could also account for rude behaviour on the roads. York University psychology professor David Wiesenthal, a recognized expert in road rage, discovered that drivers with tinted windows were more likely to break traffic laws. Drivers with vanity plates, on the other hand, were more likely to obey the rules of the road. In a big city where the chance of a repeat encounter with another motorist remains slim, restraints on anti-social behaviour are lessened.
“It’s not like your neighbour who pulls out of the driveway without looking,” he said. “You don’t honk or scream at them because you know you’re going to see them every day.”
In his research, Wiesenthal also found that driver stress and aggression occurred more frequently in high traffic congestion. Incidents of mild aggression — including horn honking, swearing and yelling at other drivers — were similar between men and women. When the behaviour turned violent, such as fistfights and use of weapons, men were the most likely culprits.
Mike concedes to having threatened and intimidated other drivers on a few occasions. In one instance, a driver at a four-way stop lunged ahead when Mike had the right of way. Mike’s frustration grew as the driver stopped his car to block Mike’s path. A fierce confrontation ensued where Mike threatened to “kill” the other driver. When Mike saw a small girl in the driver’s car, he retreated to his vehicle.
“With every act of violence that I’ve ever inflicted on another human being,” he says, “I’ve felt such an overwhelming sense of guilt about it afterwards.”
Inflicting bodily harm and guilt may not be Mike’s only problems. Motorists involved heavily in road rage incidents experienced elevated levels of psychiatric distress including depression, the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry reports.
The strain on mental health can carry over into the home and workplace, says Beverly Beuermann-King, an education consultant to CAMH. As a stress and wellness specialist, King counsels white-collar workers on coping with commuting-related stress. Besides the potential physical ailments of headaches, neck and shoulder pain, stress can lead to frustration, a lack of concentration and a feeling of being on edge.
“When you’re in that mood, you’re not someone everyone wants to be around, so the ability to communicate with you has been decreased,” Beuermann-King says.
As a way of avoiding road rage altogether, King suggests that motorists plan their days better, allowing for reasonable time expectations. To lessen the time urgency, Wiesenthal says motorists should carry hands-free cellphones to call ahead when running late.
Further, Wiesenthal’s research has shown deep breathing and listening to music reduces commuting stress. Should a driver feel their self-control starting to slide, Wiesenthal suggests pulling off the road and counting to 10. Under no circumstances should a driver retaliate or invite confrontation.
As Mike brings the car’s engine to a halt and he shuts the driver-side door, he’s relieved that not one person or vehicle was damaged during his 20-minute drive. Of all the advice Mike has heard, one tactic has proved flawless in helping him deal with his road rage.
“I don’t drive,” he says. “Fortunately I’m within walking distance of my work.
