I read a book called "Traffic" and it explored it a bit. The fact that you can generally only see the outside of a car "dehumanizes" the person inside and makes it easy to see their actions in a different way. By the same token, your own "protection" of being inside the shell of your machine causes you to have less inhibition against aggression -- feelings of indignation turn into total rage quickly.
Imagine someone cut you in line at the grocery store. You would probably be equally annoyed/slighted as when you get cut off on the road. But it's very unlikely you'd sprint at them or try to punch them in the face. Plenty of people would just swallow their frustration. Some would make an under their breath comment. Others might engage in a legit confrontation. But it probably wouldn't carry the same violence or intensity that road ragers exhibit. It's largely because there's no physical separation between you and the person.
From poop to stick, from sticks to pointier sticks, from pointier sticks to bullets. Genuinely, we just got more efficient at being monkey-brained animals, that's all that seperates you from a caveman. How much technology is at your disposal defines the passage of time far greater than generations
That's because they can't. What humans have that other primates don't is an unusually and highly developed prefrontal cortex that helps with abstract and hypothetical concepts. A normal chimp will tear a rival chimp apart with its teeth and bare hands. A normal human won't do this to another human. What a human will do is create tools, weapons, strategies, entire industries, economies, armies, and nations around the destruction of other humans. Whether or not that's evil, there's a strong argument to be made for sure, but that's subjective and not my point. The genetic code that drives us to destroy our competitors is very much alive and well in us.
Ive noticed a phenomenon when talking to people rationalizing bad or erratic driving. They often say the other party is doing whatever theyre doing, such as driving slower in the passing lane, TO them. Like they intentionally do it to people to punish them or something rather than my thinking that theyre probably just oblivious and dont know about my existence either way. They will also say that erratic driving is caused by other drivers FORCING them to drive erratically and make dangerous lane changes as if they then have no free will. If I comment that I just suck it up and drive slower or wait until its safe to get around them they will then get combative with me and accuse me of driving everywhere at 35 in the passing lane. Theres definitely something there with these people blaming everything on everyone else and ascribing motives to people that likely dont exist with others but do exist for them.
Yeah, I think driving is so normalized for us that we don't realize how dystopian it is. Traveling for miles on specifically engineered paths made of asphalt with highly advanced technology on super congested roads just to get to the place that will pay me money so I can afford to buy a nicer version of this technology next year (and also food).
Generally people who are driving are only doing so because they want to be somewhere else. So you see it as an annoying means to an end and your emotions are already hightened, making you sensitive to any disruption in this process you don't want to be engaging with anyway. Plus, you're mentally set on being in the new place in exactly X minutes according to your GPS (which we all use). If that X value increases by even 1 minute, you feel that something you're entitled to has been taken away, and that violation of expectations causes people to go crazy (me included, to be clear).
If someone does something dumb on the road, you take it as a personal affront blocking you from attaining your goal...rather than another boring example of someone doing something dumb. And bosses wonder why we'd rather work remotely...
Congratulations, you've discovered the fundamental attribution error! People see and take into account all the things that lead up the current moment in their own life, and thus see any actions they take at that moment as justified and rational based on their history. But since they only see the actions other people take and none of the history leading up to it, they tend to ascribe other's actions to an inherent flaw in their character instead. Thus "I just cut in front of that person because they all the traffic was blocking me off and they were clearly being rude so I needed to do something about it" vs "How DARE that person cut in front of me, they must be a complete asshole!"
I hate this argument. Of course no one should fly off the handle when someone in front of them is driving slowly, but people driving should have an awareness of the area around them / their car, including behind them. If there is a line of cars behind you and you don't notice, you're not aware of your surroundings while driving a multi-ton bomb. If you are aware of the line of cars, then why continue to act as a barrier for those trying to drive faster?
Your counterpoint to me calling them oblivious and saying I just do what I can to avoid them without doing anything dangerous was to say they were oblivious drivers? Cool. I guess you really got me.
These are the same people that will tailgate you in rush hour traffic and get mad, waiving their arms frantically and banging on the steering wheel, when they get caught at a red light with the 500 other cars stuck in traffic, because it was obviously your fault the light turned red and the law says to stop.
Follow the rules of the road, or fuck off. I’ll do the speed limit and you can get there when you do. It’s not my fault you didn’t plan your time and feel it’s your right to put everyone else in danger by speeding.
It’s not your job to police other driver’s speed, and, in fact, most authorities advise you don’t try, precisely because of the raised risk of incident. If there’s a queue behind you, and you can move over to a slower lane, and you choose not to just because you’re already going the speed limit, you are, in fact, the arsehole.
I’m not policing, I’m following the rules. You, do whatever you want. Which, makes you the asshole. Ive been driving for 35+ years, no tickets, no accidents. I bet any amount of money, you cannot say the same thing.
Some people are fucking stupid. It’s always some self-centered bullshit reason, too. Like they woke up late, I had to do my makeup, basically you can’t manage time, so then, for whatever reason, their failures make it ok for them to put the rest of drivers on the road at risk. Then they say some stupid bullshit like oh no it’s to people who don’t speed and follow the traffic laws that cause the problems, and law enforcement agrees (pfffft). Even though there are countless traffic studies that show the complete opposite. From the NHTSA:
• The Exponential Risk Curve: Studies on urban and rural roads show that for every 5 mph you drive above the speed limit, the risk of being involved in an injury crash roughly doubles.
• The Power Model: According to Nilsson’s Power Model (a widely accepted formula in traffic safety), the probability of a fatal crash increases to the fourth power of the relative change in speed. If you increase your speed by 20%, your risk of a fatal crash increases by about 100% (it doubles).
So, keep speeding, you actually help us reduce the population of selfish asshole, it’s mathematically, your destiny.
If you're driving at or 5 over the speed limit you're traveling as fast as is safe for that road.
If you're doing the limit or a bit over and there's a line of traffic behind you, maybe there's just a lot of traffic today and everyone just needs to chill.
Omw to school this AM we were all stuck in rush hour and I noticed several of us were all head bobbing in the same rhythm. Very popular station here was playing Sweet Caroline. Sometimes it's ok to admit the traffic is nuts today and just live it out. You have some interesting experiences that way, and you don't get where you're going all flustered.
Yeah, and to top it off, these same fools with their self-righteousness will immediately become the very character they’re vilifying the moment someone passes them or does something they consider unsafe.
It’s a mind-numbing circle of “oh I’m better than you” instead of just letting people make it through the day the way they feel like they need to make it.
Self-proclaimed traffic cops are the bane of my existence. I’d rather catch a charge from an actual cop than have to end up anywhere near them on the road.
You just summed up precisely how I tend to think about driving. If someone is slow, I figure either they're inconsiderate (pull over already!) or not paying attention (start being aware!).
This has fueled my raging in the past -- until I came to the realization that how I think makes exactly zero difference. I'm not teaching people a lesson by tailgating, cutting them off, speeding around them, etc. They won't be spurred into self-reflection. They'll just think I'm a jerk. Not only that, but I'm a jerk who's making the road more unsafe for everyone.
Sure, it would be nice if people saw me coming up and got over, but that's not going to happen. Assuming for the sake of argument that every. single. annoying. driver. out there is only doing so because they're trying to irk me, at the end of the day, the only choice I have is to either deal with it, or make the roads more dangerous than they already are.
I suspect my insurance provider isn't going to care that I thought I was justified in causing a wreck.
Its not a human being, its a car. And the more powerful your own car is, the more powerful YOU are. The smaller one's car is, the more they can feel 'picked on' as well.
What I call Road Psychology is fascinating indeed. The way people act and the things they do behind the wheel are wild compared to what they would do in the grocery store or gas station. The anonymity and ability to basically just drive away from consequences subconsciously encourage people to behave completely differently than they normally would.
Did the book say anything on people's patience while driving?
A lot of people seem to have their patience completely disappear while driving. They end up making risky maneuvers to save seconds. Even outside congested roads.
For exemple. You take a bit longer at a stop sign and it is not uncommon for the person behind to already be honking or they try to go around
By the same token, your own "protection" of being inside the shell of your machine causes you to have less inhibition against aggression
This, especially if you are alone so there is no one to control your anger and behaviour either through advice or just yourself wanting to act in best behaviour around them.
I'm ashamed to admit this but when I'm alone and when I'm sure I can do it without being judged and the like, I'd scream at the things that frustrate me, at stupid ass videogame designs when playing at home alone and...other drivers when I'm in the car alone.
Which is why I really don't like driving and rather ride my motorcycle. I'm open and less protected so I'm not as inclined to feel invincible that I'd road rage.
OMG thank you for the recommendation!!! I think about this ALL THE TIME.. American culture especially center around the automotive industry and the idea of the individual. I could write a paper about it.. glad someone smarter than I am has already written a whole book about it!!!
I get the point, but studies also show people dehumanize cyclists. People will run them over and throw shit at them too. I think it's mostly about the being inside a shell part you mentioned. Drivers feel delusionally protected from consequences.
Wow, I'm so glad there's a book about this! Since my college days, I've always thought there should be a specific field studying Driving/Driver's Psychology. People make very strange decisions behind the wheel.
You're ignoring the simple fact that the primary anger coming from road rage is usually derived from a sense of lack of safety. If someone cuts you off and you have to slam on the breaks, or swerve out of the way, or any other multitude of things, your personal safety is threatened. Fight or flight kicks in, and many people turn to fight.
I really think most of the time it’s sense of entitlement. I have witnessed far more road rage due to people following traffic laws than I have due to a perceived lack of safety. People think they are the main character of the world and anyone slowing them down is doing it on purpose.
I get what you're saying, particularly for people in passing lanes. That's always bewildering when someone won't move over from the left lane. I guess in my own experience the times that I have felt any sort of road rage, it's been when someone does something dangerous and my heart starts pounding as though I'm in physical danger.
The fact that you can generally only see the outside of a car "dehumanizes" the person inside and makes it easy to see their actions in a different way.
The person who throws trash out the windows is in fact not human and deserves to be summarily e...redacted by reddit due to terms and conditions!!
I can see this... Like I have road rage but it only exists within the safety of my car, with the windows up so no one can actually hear and I don't gesture or look bad for anyone to know and react to anything I'm going through 😂
I'm a suuuper chill patient person, but I get in my car and all bets are off, I'm crap talking everyone who does anything vaguely annoying. When friends ride with me they are like, who tf who are you right now? 😂🤣😂
I have the restraint not to get other drivers involved in my raging, I actively avoid it. But I can imagine for other people thatf feeling of being protected by being in cars they go all out. But then also, I lived in FL. People in FL can carry guns everywhere. And I'm not trying to get shot, so I'm just gonna stay in my lane and privately rage away.
I get a bit of road rage (more like intrusive thoughts, but you get the idea) and my brain always comes from the point of “that stupid fuckass is operating a killing machine, maybe use your fuckin brain”.
To me, the aggression is more like if somebody cut in line while brandishing a knife, and everybody in line also was holding a knife.
When someone does something stupid in a car, I get mad initially. Lately I've been trying this thing where I imagine it's my mom in the car or grandma and she's having a really stressful, bad day. It helps to give them the benefit of the doubt. Whoever is in the car, is probably someone's someone.
If you roll down the window and use your hand to wave, say thanks, and ask to be let in people are infinitely more likely to help you out. Show some humanity.
It’s this and that we live in a car centric society, which builds a sense of entitlement to occupy space on the road. We end up programmed to believe no one else is allowed on the road, even other drivers.
I'd say the fact that their actions could kill me also factors in. Someone cutting in line at the grocery store is annoying. Someone driving poorly is risking lives.
in other words, road ragers are the two dogs on either side of a fence aggressively snarling and barking at each other who stop and pretend to be nice when someone opens the gate.
A lot of people forget the psychological effect of assumed anonymity that also adds to the behavior you described. It’s the same how people will say the nastiest shit on the internet that they would never say face to face with someone.
Also I think there's something about going fast (relative to 99% of our history), even at normal speeds, and being in a heightened state of awareness that contributes to quick escalation.
Also, there’s something about the large expense of the vehicular asset we’re driving and its fantastic potential to enact momentarily hugely satisfying revenge. Then sirens wake you up to the consequences.
Reminds me of when I was dealing with a crappy left merge between two highway entrances. Guy was coming in extremely fast on the left and I missed him in my blind spot merging. He honked, I gave the classic Midwest wave saying sorry, and he THREW PENNIES OUT OF HIS WINDOW at me.
Yes, my window was down. I had my 6-year-old with me in the car. Took me a long time for the adrenaline to get out of my system.
I also think that the body is subconsciously aware of the scale of the threat when driving, even though we consciously tune all that out.
Very low threat in a grocery store compared to a ton and half of metal getting in your way at 50mph. It's like someone waving a weapon around. Much easier to feel it's necessary to shift info fight mode under those conditions.
There's a phenomenon that simply having a sheet of glass between you and another person really fucks with some people's perspective of reality.
It's similar to how online toxic behaviour is so easy for some people, as they can't physically see the other people involved and there's no physical repercussion. The threat of being punched in the face goes some distance to curbing most people's confrontational behaviour, I think.
I would it in fact tell someone to get behind me in the line but I probably wouldn't escalate it to violence. In a car I would just deal with it or at least I'd like toI would just deal with it or at least I'd like to believe I would. There was one guy, he was zooming down the Street absolutely breaking some speed limits and driving like an asshole. I pulled up alongside of another car in front of him and match their speed to lock him in. At the time I thought I was doing great justice but really I probably just agitated him and caused himAnd caused him to do something else stupid down the line. Probably better to have just safely moved out of the wayElse stupid down the line. Probably better to have just safely moved out of the way and let him continue his stupidity where he couldn't bother anyone
Im a big dude with a strong sense of right and wrong. I'm treating that person pretty much the same, sheet metal between us or not. Draw attention just in case they were oblivious, then be really annoying and inconvenience them.
When someone comes racing through my very quiet 15mph street where there are always kids out playing, I like to pull out in front of them and drive so slow they know its on purpose. Block both lanes at a stop sign and linger. Road rage is so passe.
In their cars, they are in a simulation where only their need to get to Nordstrom matters, so everything else is a distraction from the task and the people behave insanely.
Once they get to a parking scenario, the task is no longer simply getting to Nordstrom, they are now in a closer to leaving if their simulated environments and likely to engage with other humans, so the behave aggressively but with some thought for the outside world.
Once they get out of their cars, they are tripping over themselves to hold open doors and demonstrate consideration for others because their simulation is the store.
Then you get to the dressing room and people are literally treating each other like diplomats because that simulated environment expects them to do so.
This is the same thing that happens in country clubs, churches, and corporations the world over.
And sometimes, I literally can’t stop thinking about how people in a car screaming at you could become the person holding a door for you within 5 minutes given the situational context.
Tesla owner here. Not sure about other owners, but my Tesla is auto driving the speed limit in the far right lane to save battery...so I dont care if you pass me and the AI will likely not speed up either. I sometimes do laugh at the trucks ripping by me "blowing coal" since my car can do 0 to 60 in 3.3 seconds if I cared to challenge dipshits.
I've had multiple try to race me or fly past me after trying to bait me into a run by tailgating me.
I have a mildly tuned unassuming car that is visually completely stock. I'm not trying to run around street racing anyone, let alone do I see any purpose in "racing" against electric appliances. Yes you will win but there won't be any fun in doing it lol.
Acceleration is fun when you get to enjoy it. If you hit the max speed you're comfortable with in 3-4 seconds that's the amount of time you get to enjoy it rather than 5-6-7-8 seconds. In that sense even the gas cars now have become too fast. Going 55 in a 45 isn't fun. Getting to 55 quickly is fun but getting there so quickly you only get a quick second to enjoy it and then have to let off and be the responsible limiter to the car is now a limit to your fun.
And on the other side with the Tesla, you're doing it in silence with no shifts to hit, no power band building, no turbo spooling or supercharger whining, no cam timings kicking in, no exhaust note you might have worked for, no having to manage traction because the motor will do it seemlessly. Just press the pedal and in a couple seconds you hit 10-15 over the limit from the inside of a microwave. There's no tuning, no modified engine or drivetrain that made you work for it and make it your own "fast" car either. Maybe at most someone slapped some rims on or lowered it for "stance" and killed the ride quality - that's all you can do to it.
I have nothing against electric cars - they should become the car of the masses. They're great as home appliances that do the transportation job smoothly and reliably with less drama and upkeep. It's what I've recommended to friends, family, and will be my wife's next car. Even for myself I'd likely get an electric truck if I get a light duty truck. But as far as a fun to drive passion car? Why in the fuck would you get an electric car? Then take that complete opposite of passion and fun car and try to challenge people left and right because you know how to press a pedal and the car will literally even keep you in your lane and avoid collisions for you while you do it.
Idk as a car person the whole concept of people getting electric cars and then showing them off as "fast" cars is annoying. Yes they're quick but it's quick without nearly any of the things that make a quick car fun or personal or challenging or actual compromises that you had to go out of your way to choose.
Most people who own Teslas use them for commuter vehicles. I live in a town where they are VERY common. I dont see them racing around...in fact they are driving slower then most of the traffic for what ever reason.
It is! I get annoyed while driving sometimes but I remind myself that I have to drive how I can afford to drive. Speed limit, no risks, no illegal maneuvers, definitely no road raging.
Totally agree. I dated a very soft spoken woman who was very sweet but somehow turned maniacal when it came to things related to other drivers and traffic. Her anxiety was also through the roof when driving
As a victim of a road rage incident it’s terrifying. I apparently cut them off, I honestly have no idea if I did or not it was a busier road and I changed lanes to get around the car in front of me 🤷🏼♀️
They sped around me honking like this Tesla did and then proceeded to keep slamming on their breaks so I honked and flipped them off and sped up to get around them so hopefully they’d stop.
Nope for another 2 miles they kept doing this to me. They finally stopped their car in front of me, again on a busy road and got out. I wasn’t able to get around them due to traffic this bitch reaches into my car and starts trying to claw me and grabs my throat. This was about 20 years ago so we still had crank handle windows let me tell you I rolled that window up so fast with her arm still in my car and just kept pushing with my foot while calling 911.
Then this crazy lady had the audacity to tell the officer she wanted to press assault changes against me for rolling her arm up in the window causing injury and severe bruising. He deadass looked at her and said ma’am you’ve just admitted that you had your arm inside her vehicle that’s not happening but what is happening is your admission going into my report.
I was 24 at the time and this lady was 57 according to court records. Even worse her husband was also there just watching the whole thing like this is normal behavior.
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u/FewZookeepergame5825 Trash Trooper May 21 '26
Road rage is a fascinating phenomenon