Road Rage

In its broadest sense, the term road rage can refer to any display of aggression by a driver. However, it is often used to refer to the more extreme acts of aggression such as physical assault or homicide that occur as a direct result of a disagreement between drivers. This type of behavior has become common in the United States and the rest of the industrially developed world. An individual may be a victim one day and a perpetrator the next.

Road rage is characterized by driver recklessness and “automobile anarchy,” which include such mundane actions as unsignaled or unsafe lane changes, tailgating, slow starts, abrupt braking, and crowding when lanes reduce in number. These actions may be accented by obscene gestures, shouting, or blasting the ...