We have done a series of posts discussing the cities with the highest incidences of road rage, what sets drivers off and what they do as a reaction to being angry behind the wheel. Today, we are going to discuss the psychological reasons for road rage and some tips for avoiding it.
According to psychiatrist Richard Winer, drivers taking out their frustrations on the road ways is becoming more and more common as people become “much more stressed and more likely to talk about road rage.” Many of his patients describe the feelings they get when they are behind the wheel and many of those feelings cause them to act out. A lack of control, feelings of being trapped and scared and other emotions cause some drivers to lash out in various ways.
From the list of the top cities for road rage, we can also conclude that external stressors are helping to contribute to the problem. The crash of Wall Street and the flailing auto industry are probably major reasons why New York City and Detroit top this list.
Winer has one piece of advice for drivers – turn off the loud rock music and try something more comforting like Mozart of Beethoven. The cliché “music calms the savage beast” has some truth to it when it comes to driving.
Here’s the lesson: Do not use your VW cars or any other cars as weapons or avenues for exerting your stress and emotions. Regardless of your individual situation, take some steps to calm down and be a safer driver. Getting angry and taking things to the next level just makes everything worse.
