Is road rage getting worse or what?

[roadman65]

You here about it all the time.  You see it everyday on the roads and even some end up deadly when one causes an accident.  The roads are too crowded and unless we can keep up with sprawl, it will continue to happen.  Plus you will always get that young hot rod who wants to show off his car or prove to his ego how cool he is being the fastest driver on the road even if the roads are brought up to date or not.

Do you think it is going to get worse if we do not expand our road systems and come up with more proactive road building?  After seeing this in our local news http://www.clickorlando.com/news/person-of-interest-sought-in-winter-park-day-care-crash-1-child-killed/25398914 it makes me wonder what will be next.

Although we cannot say for sure if road rage played part in this particular incident, we can most likely guess that it is 95 percent sure that it was that.  This time people off the roads, particularly children in preschool in their very own classroom were the victims and not other drivers or passengers.

[agentsteel53]

Although we cannot say for sure if road rage played part in this particular incident, we can most likely guess that it is 95 percent sure that it was that. 

no, we really cannot.

you've started with an agenda, decided to spew it on the forum, and then hastily stapled likely-unrelated facts and citations to it in order to attempt to bolster your point.  this is called being emotionally manipulative.  I'd honestly rather encounter road rage than this "think of the children!" breed of horse's assery.

[roadman65]

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/explore?tag=road-rage
http://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/emotional-health-17/emotional-disorder-news-228/road-rage-when-stress-hits-the-highway-646042.html
http://crime.about.com/od/victims/p/roadrage.htm

Its not just about children.   This is one unfortunate event that could happen among many due to this ongoing problem.  The main purpose of the OP is in the question.  I basically want to know if anyone here thinks if this problem of road rage is getting worse or not?  I was not trying to peddle my political views on anyone using the children and get people on a campaign against road rage.  We have Al Sharpton and a party called the Democrats who do that every day.

BTW are you related to Rush Limbaugh?

[agentsteel53]

you just have absolutely no idea how to put together a cogent argument, do you? 

I basically want to know if anyone here thinks if this problem of road rage is getting worse or not?

I don't know if that is what you want or not.  why are you asking me?

We have Al Sharpton and a party called the Democrats who do that every day.

left field called.  it wants that back.

BTW are you related to Rush Limbaugh?

probably.  your mother, on the other hand, just legally changed her name to Ad Hominem.

[spooky]

I think you're saying a bunch of things that don't really have anything to do with your original point.

[Brian556]

Congestion is part of the reason for road rage. The other bigger part is people's rudeness. This includes driving too slow, talking on the phone, not signaling, ect.

Around here, at least 40% of people don't signal their turns. And the cops so nothing about it.

Did anybody see that video the woman made of the pickup wrecking?
This one pissed me off. The woman recording the video was acting like she was doing nothing wrong when, in fact she was the one who was being rude and started the incident. The stupid bitch was riding in the left lane un-nessesarliy and refused to move to the right to left a faster driver pass.

The guy, while he was a little wrong for trying to speed, had every right to be angry. I kinda feel sorry for him because he had every right to be angry, and the woman deserved his rage.

People are just becoming more rude and self-absorbed everywhere. It's not just on the road. You should see how they behave in stores. They leave carts loose in the lot,  stop in the middle of the entryway to did through their purses so nobody can get past them, they randomly dump merchandise everywhere, leave slimy food remains in carts, clog and overflow toilets, ect.

[jbnv]

People are just becoming more rude and self-absorbed everywhere.

This.

[Brandon]

Where's my popcorn?

[ET21]

Where's my popcorn?

Sorry, I forgot to pass it over towards you. Extra butter?

On topic:
Quote from: Brian556 on Today at 09:56:59 AM
People are just becoming more rude and self-absorbed everywhere.

I would also agree with this

[Brian556]

And people are so oblivious, they seem to have no clue that they are being rude or unsafe. I don't think the majority of people are doing rude acts on purpose, it's just that they are so absorbed with themselves, they have no clue.

[Brandon]

And people are so oblivious, they seem to have no clue that they are being rude or unsafe. I don't think the majority of people are doing rude acts on purpose, it's just that they are so absorbed with themselves, they have no clue.

Or so absorbed with their phones, their iPods, their genitalia, etc, etc.

[jeffandnicole]

...their genitalia, etc, etc.

This.

(Um, wait, I think I spoke out of turn)

[txstateends]

Did somebody say **popcorn**??


IMO, I think in places, road rage/distractions/foolishness have gone up or gotten out of hand.

[DaBigE]

I think it has to do with the growth of the "me first" society/mentality that technology and social media is creating. People (especially the younger generations) sit behind the safety of a keyboard for most of what they do, not realizing there are real consequences to their actions. They expect instant gratification regardless of the cost to someone else because somehow their time is more valuable than anyone else. This then transfers to when they're behind the wheel. And when something does happen, it's someone else's fault.

My $0.02; now pass the popcorn 

[Duke87]

I think a fundamental question with this as with a lot of things is: are incidents of road rage actually becoming more frequent? Or is it just that smartphones, social media, etc. have us hearing about them more often? There are plenty of assertions out there that the problem is growing worse, but no one seems to have any hard data to support them. It's all just human perception, which is completely unscientific and frequently quite flawed.

[DaBigE]

I think a fundamental question with this as with a lot of things is: are incidents of road rage actually becoming more frequent? Or is it just that smartphones, social media, etc. have us hearing about them more often? There are plenty of assertions out there that the problem is growing worse, but no one seems to have any hard data to support them. It's all just human perception, which is completely unscientific and frequently quite flawed.

That's a good point. There are more drivers/vehicles out on the road than there were years ago. But congestion also isn't getting any better ( = more frustrated/short-fused drivers). Similar to an argument I was reading about the "increase" in the number of tornadoes...people are more spread out, technology is better, and there are far more storm chasers than in the past...are we able to record more events than years ago or are they occurring more often?

[theline]

Duke, you forgot the 24-hour news networks, which have to fill that time with something. The more sensational it is, the better the ratings.

We all need to step back and realize that because more (fill in the outrageous act) is visible to our senses, there is not necessarily more out there. Information is a good thing, but our overreaction to it is not.

[Laura]

I think a fundamental question with this as with a lot of things is: are incidents of road rage actually becoming more frequent? Or is it just that smartphones, social media, etc. have us hearing about them more often? There are plenty of assertions out there that the problem is growing worse, but no one seems to have any hard data to support them. It's all just human perception, which is completely unscientific and frequently quite flawed.

That's a good point. There are more drivers/vehicles out on the road than there were years ago. But congestion also isn't getting any better ( = more frustrated/short-fused drivers). Similar to an argument I was reading about the "increase" in the number of tornadoes...people are more spread out, technology is better, and there are far more storm chasers than in the past...are we able to record more events than years ago or are they occurring more often?

Yeah, I don't really think it's getting more frequent, and honestly, I really don't hear about it being the cause of accidents too often.

I remember having to watch a video about road rage in driver's ed where a guy shot and killed another guy with a crossbow. However, I don't see a rise in these kinds of road rage killing events. It's sensational enough that you would hear about every instance if they were happening and on the rise.

Story from the time it happened 20 years ago: http://articles.latimes.com/1994-02-22/news/mn-25882_1_state-police
2013 update where he wanted to be retried (also contains more background on the events of the shooting: http://attleboro.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/highway-crossbow-killer-wants-new-trial

[Mergingtraffic]

I think a fundamental question with this as with a lot of things is: are incidents of road rage actually becoming more frequent? Or is it just that smartphones, social media, etc. have us hearing about them more often? There are plenty of assertions out there that the problem is growing worse, but no one seems to have any hard data to support them. It's all just human perception, which is completely unscientific and frequently quite flawed.

That's a good point. There are more drivers/vehicles out on the road than there were years ago. But congestion also isn't getting any better ( = more frustrated/short-fused drivers). Similar to an argument I was reading about the "increase" in the number of tornadoes...people are more spread out, technology is better, and there are far more storm chasers than in the past...are we able to record more events than years ago or are they occurring more often?

Yeah, I don't really think it's getting more frequent, and honestly, I really don't hear about it being the cause of accidents too often.

With your standard car accident, the media doesn't usually report the cause because the police usually are still investigating that and usually don't have that info.  Many times, I don't see the media ever following up on car crashes unless it involves fatalities.  The media usually says "The cause of the crash is under investigation."  Then, we don't hear about it anymore.

I believe most crashes are caused my drivers cutting others off and misjudging space between cars.  I've almost had drivers weaving in & out of traffic almost clip me if I wasn't paying attention. 

With regards to the pick-up truck dude to flipped out on the lady.  I believe she was in the left lane because she was turning left ahead.  I read somewhere it was a divided highway with the left turn bays etc.  If you're that impatient you can't wait for someone to turn left then there's a problem (unless you're one of those that takes foreverrrrrr to turn).

Of course in theory, if the Speed Limit is 65mph.  Drivers in the left lane or any lane aren't supposed to go over it.  So if Person A is doing 65mph theoretically nobody should be tailgaiting them.    However, I've noticed drivers going 10mph BELOW the posted limit. But if I'm doing 85mph in a 65 in the left lane and somebody is tailgating me, why should I move over?  I don't.  You're not supposed to go 85mph anyway.  Now, if I'm doing 65mph in a 65mph then I do.

[PurdueBill]

Enforcing the speed limit isn't up to non-law-enforcement personnel in their own vehicles.  Speed Limit 65 or not, if you're doing 65 in the left lane, the right lane is open, and someone faster is coming behind you, you shouldn't be blocking the left lane!  (The only exception being something with left exits or left turns where one must be in the left lane for their upcoming turn.)  Mile upon mile of speed limit in the left lane, faster traffic be damned, is rude and causes many more problems than it "solves".

[nexus73]

Everyone's "busy".  The hour I dread isn't bar closing, it's when people are getting off of work and get into tooo big a hurry.  They're worse by far than the drunks!  I just let the ones who want to go fast get past.  It is funny to see them zoom-zoom by me and then I see they turned off a few miles ahead.  Geez, what will they do with the extra 60 seconds they gained?

That said I do think Oregon speed limits are way too low and I'm native.  All the states surrounding us have higher limits but it's not like millions are getting killed but we sure do have some cops making a killing on their revenue enhancement.  The city of Port Orford is a good example.  Their city budget has $160K expected revenue from tickets.  All those clownshoes do is write tickets.  No patrol means more crime and I hear all about the break-ins and vandalism down there because the law enforcement is centered around TICKETS instead of CRIME.

Road rage doesn't worry me much out here.  Stupidity, distracted drivers, old fogeys with no business being behind the wheel, bad cop/no donut stories, slides, potholes, bandaid solutions to traffic problems, those are what I see the most of by far here on the South Coast.

Rick

[mass_citizen]

and I thought I was the only one that noticed this trend. its especially frustrating when people take every aggressive move possible to get ahead of you only to come to a red light. it has definitely gotten worse over the last ten years or so.

at least for all the Mass-holes here in MA.

[SidS1045]

But if I'm doing 85mph in a 65 in the left lane and somebody is tailgating me, why should I move over?  I don't.  You're not supposed to go 85mph anyway.  Now, if I'm doing 65mph in a 65mph then I do.

Wrong.  Every state has laws against what is usually called "failure to yield," and they are not speed-limit-dependent.  You are required to move to the right, if it's safe to do so, if faster traffic is coming up behind you.

And, as has already been pointed out, if you aren't a cop it's not up to you to enforce your own peculiar brand of "law."  If your hypothetical tailgater isn't supposed to go 85 neither are you.

[jeffandnicole]

But if I'm doing 85mph in a 65 in the left lane and somebody is tailgating me, why should I move over?  I don't.  You're not supposed to go 85mph anyway.  Now, if I'm doing 65mph in a 65mph then I do.

Wrong.  Every state has laws against what is usually called "failure to yield," and they are not speed-limit-dependent.  You are required to move to the right, if it's safe to do so, if faster traffic is coming up behind you.

And, as has already been pointed out, if you aren't a cop it's not up to you to enforce your own peculiar brand of "law."  If your hypothetical tailgater isn't supposed to go 85 neither are you.

Thank you.   Doofy103 basically defined road roage: "But if I'm doing (something, regardless if it's lawful or not) and somebody is (doing something else, regardless if it's lawful or not), why should I (do the lawful thing)? I don't. "

At some point along the line, people made the decision that the speed limit is THE law, and all other laws are secondary.  Now, we have gotten to the point where someone's individual comfort speed is THE law; the speed limit law is secondary, and all other laws fall behind that.

I don't know about all states, but usually the speed limit is actually just one of many laws, all independent of each other.

In the above example, the poster believes that because they are going a certain speed above the speed limit, they don't have to obey other laws.  Make that *certain* other laws.  Would the poster say "I'm going 85 in a 65.  Thus, I'm going to drink a beer".  Or "I'm going 85 in a 65.  I'm going to drive on the opposite side of the roadway"?  But yet, the poster writes "I'm going 85 in a 65.  I'm not going to move to the right".

What's the difference? None, other than personal road rage, in which the poster has determined that he will control what speed others will do.

[signalman]

People camped in the left lane is indeed the root of a lot of road rage.  As others have noted, regardless of what speed you're traveling, if faster traffic comes up from behind the courteous and correct thing to do is move to the right. (The exception being an upcoming left exit or left turn one intends on utilizing.)  People really need to not worry about those who want to speed.  The speeder is the one who's willing to risk a speeding ticket.  Just let them go.  Highway traveling isn't a NASCAR race under caution.  It isn't up to civilians in unmarked cars to set the pace of traffic.  If you are in the right lane and another driver still tailgates you, then he/she is being an asshole.  However, slamming on the brakes or letting up on the throttle isn't the correct answer either.  Remember that two wrongs don't make a right.