Driver’s education is a course that is required in most of the states in order for teenagers and new drivers to to obtain a driver’s license. Some things that are taught in driver’s education classes are safe, defensive driving, traffic laws, handling emergencies, and simply how to drive (DMV.org). However, when I took driver’s education, approximately five years ago, driving under the influence was a heavily talked about subject, with many pictures and videos to show how bad it can be. We were even given “drunk goggles” and allowed to drive a golf cart around to see how it affected our driving. But one thing that was barely talked about, if at all, was road rage. We were not told to not let our anger take over and to not tailgate, or honk the horn, or give someone the middle finger because it can lead to careless driving and cause wrecks. We were not told that road rage is just as serious as drunk driving and that it can kill people the same way. Innocent lives get taken from road rage, and the only matter discussed in driver’s education was drunk driving. 

Generally, most people think that road rage is a person to person thing and it can occur at random times. But then there are some people who think that it can be a psychological problem, while others think that it can be passed down through generations. Then there are the people who think that it this way in which one is taught to drive. Everyone agrees that no matter what causes road rage, it is a serious problem that needs “answers” and a way to fix it. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that traffic deaths involve about two-thirds of crash deaths involve aggressive driving” (USNews.com), which is more than half and it needs to decrease and stop. There have been too many people who have died because of road rage and people need to stop getting so angry while driving because “out of 10,000 road-rage incidents committed over a seven-year span, there were 218 deaths and 12,610 injuries recorded” and “aggressive driving plays a role in 66% of traffic fatalities” (Geico.com).  

The main thing that everyone disagrees on, when talking about road rage, is what the actual cause is and the type of people it affects. Some articles even think that men have it worse than women and vise-versa. Road rage is a severe problem that can be caused by many different things ranging from psychological problems, to the most obvious, how one person is taught how to drive and it is a problem that needs to be fixed. US News stated that “nearly 9 in 10 drivers saw aggressive driving as ‘a serious threat to their personal safety’…and more than half of drivers perceived road rage as a bigger problem than in a survey three years earlier”. People are realizing how bad road rage can be, but they are not doing anything to stop it. People are starting to become worried and scared about driving because they think that their personal safety will be threatened. 

Road rage can be described in many different ways though. One way in which it can be defined is “as aggressive or violent behavior stemming from a driver’s uncontrolled anger at the actions of another motorist” (DMV.org). Psychology Today describes road rage as “roaring up behind as if they might intentionally rear-end you; constant tailgating; horn honking” and many more examples. The journal Social and Psychiatric Epidemiology simply describes it as “drivers being ‘mad’”. Lastly, Dictionary.com describes it as “a fit of violent anger by the driver of an automobile, especially one directed toward and endangering other motorists or pedestrians”. When asking people what they think road rage is, most would agree with the above definitions in one-way or another. And in general, one can come to the conclusion that road rage is simply a situation in which a driver of a vehicle gets mad or angry at something that another driver or pedestrian is doing and they react in a violent manner, expressing anger. Even though most people agree with some part of the above definitions, they may not agree with it all. This leads to people denying the fact that they have road rage because they simply do not think that honking the horn at someone, who is stopped at a stoplight when it is green, is road rage. Some common reasons that drivers experience road rage include: fighting over a parking space, being cut off, not being allowed to pass a car, being stuck being a slow driver and being tailgated by a driver who is already experiencing road (Geico.com). This behavior could lead to accidents and possible death to the driver, the other driver/pedestrian or both. Road rage is an extremely dangerous problem that does not need to be taken lightly. It has caused thousands of deaths over recent years and even more wrecks. 

The problem arises when you ask what causes road rage. Is it a psychological problem? Is it hereditary and passed down from generations? Does it just simply depend on the person? Or is it caused by not being taught to drive properly? There are various people who will agree with one of the above, but what is the real answer? DMV.org suggests that “younger male drivers and people with certain psychological disorders are most prone to engage in aggressive driving and road rage” and along the same lines, the journal Social and Psychiatric Epidemiology states that “previous literature has demonstrated a link between road traffic accidents and mental illness”, so in other words, both articles are suggesting that road rage is caused by a psychological problem. But what if that is not the cause? 

Another journal, Am J Prev Med, suggests that road rage can stem from the parents of the drivers. They suggest that “parents provide substantial influence on adolescent behavior in general and have particularly important roles to play with respect to novice teenage driving” which can go hand-in-hand with driver’s education and how a teenager is taught to drive and if they are fully taught the dangers of the road. If a parent does not tell their teenage driver the importance of road safety, then there is a possibility that they could lose their son or daughter and no one wants to bury their own child. Therefore, parents should make sure to teach their child the importance of driving safely and not getting mad while behind the wheel.

 In the United States, before a teenager, or new driver, is allowed to get their driver’s license, they must first have a driver’s permit. This means that the person with the permit is not allowed to legally drive by themselves. In the state of South Carolina, one must have someone over the age of 21 and who has had a license for more than one year in the passenger seat of the vehicle to legally drive. The rules of driver’s (also called learner’s) permits vary from state to state, but they all are enforced for a good reason (DMV.org). Having someone of age in the car with a new driver helps to teach the new driver the rights and wrongs of driving. This is a perfect time to tell the new driver about how dangerous road rage is and ways to prevent it while driving. Parents should also make sure to put their child into driver’s education to help aid in teaching the child safe driving strategies. 

The dangers of road rage should be taught in every driver’s education class. Many teenagers do not even know what road rage is when they start driving. They do not know that driving extremely close to another car because they are not going fast enough for them is tremendously dangerous and could possibly kill them and the person in front of them. Teenagers, and even older-new drivers, need to be taught to not “risk escalating a frustrating situation, because you never know what the other driver might do” (USNews.org). They also should be taught to not get angry at the other drivers that are on the road. Getting angry behind the wheel does nothing but make matter worse. It never fixes the problem. 

There are numerous ways in which one can prevent getting road rage. Some of these include putting on soothing music, knowing that you share the road with others, stop making obscene gestures at other drivers (such as giving someone the middle finger) and keeping space between you and others (DMV.org). Another thing one can do includes leaving in time to get to your destination without having to hurry and worry about being late. When one is typically running late, and they are driving instead of taking other means of transportation, the person tends to speed in an attempt to get there faster. This often leads to a number of problems, including getting frustrated with stop lights and cars that are actually going the correct speed limit. There is also the increased chance of getting pulled over by a cop, which we all know only makes us angrier. Geico suggests seven ways to avoid road rage and they include some of the following: move over if someone is tailgating you, use your horn sparingly, listen to music you enjoy and avoid eye contact with angry drivers. 

If all of the above, or even just some, are taught in driver’s education classes, then the number of road rage accidents would decrease drastically. On the same note, driver’s education classes should be taught in every state, in every city and at a reasonable price so that people more willing to take the class. An even further step would be to have driver’s education classes be a requirement in order to get your driver’s license, just like having a permit is required before getting a license.
