November 2018 99S TAT E
OF MINDIt should come as no surprise that Shaw’s
research shows the majority of people have
an over-inf lated opinion of their own driving
abilities, which is a large part of the problem.
She also found that while people who tend
to have aggressive personality traits are more
likely to engage in aggro on the road, plenty
of people who are not characteristically angry
are capable of uncharacteristic outbursts
when they drive.
Personally, I resemble that remark.
Cabin Fever
There is a tendency to think of road rage as
a modern phenomenon – and probably one
invented by Americans. Certainly I don’t
remember seeing so much of it as a kid, but
maybe I just wasn’t driving enough. Yet Shaw
says there are reports of driving aggression
from as far back as the 1950s (the term ‘road
rage’ was coined by an LA TV station after
a spate of shootings on its awful freeways
back in 1988).
She says that while figures are hard to
quantify because road rage is difficult to
measure and largely unreported, the advent
of dash-cam footage may be giving the
impression that there’s more of it going on.
In its 2017 report on road rage the
Australian Institute of Criminology declared
the term itself was too nebulous to be used
meaningfully: “Road rage is one of those
notoriously difficult concepts in crime
and justice. In some respects it is, like an
elephant, easier to recognise than to define,”
the report said.
What the experts agreed on was that
there were consequences for road violence,
including soaring public liability costs and
insurance claims. The experience of road
violence may also lead some individuals “to
withdraw from road usage in part or in full”.
One man who does believe it’s getting
worse is Western Australia Police Assistant
Commissioner Nick Anticich. According
to WA figures, pulling in front of another
car and slamming on the brakes – “brake-
testing” – is the most common act of road
rage reported in that state. And possibly
the most dangerous.
“People appear to be acting differently and
have a different set of values when they are in
a vehicle,” Anticich says. “There are people
who have certain characteristics or behaviour
... you would expect them to translate when
they are on the roads. But it’s these other
people, normal people, who seem to engage
in often uncharacteristic behaviours: anger,
hatred, bigotry.”
Rather than increasing levels of anger
generally, he blames the cosseted cabins
of modern motor vehicles for
“dehumanising” people.
“Back when I was a young fella, you were
lucky if you had a radio in your car- more often than not you didn’t have air
conditioning so your window was down. You
were engaged with the community around
you,” he says. “Nowadays, it’s air-con, the
windows are up, you’ve got a whole bunch
of gizmos there, music and other things
blaring. It’s almost as if you’re locked into a
microcosm of the vehicle, disconnected from
the world around you.”
Road Warrior in Retreat
So, with exact figures hard to come by, what
can we deduce about the prevalence of road
rage in Australia?
A survey of Australians by insurer GIO
found 85 per cent of people believe drivers
are now more aggressive than ever. More
specifically, almost a quarter of drivers said
they had been followed menacingly by an
angry motorist, and 10 per cent said they had
been forced off the road, at least once in their
lives. Just under six per cent said they had
suffered damage to their cars from another
driver, and 2.2 per cent had been physically
assaulted in a road-rage incident.
The figures would suggest that, even if you
drive around in a complete Zen state, always
letting people in and never honking your
horn, you’re eventually likely to be a victim
of road rage, anyway.
As Shaw explains, the problem is often one
of mistaken perception.
“What one person sees as being cut off,
the other person might just call ‘merging’.
While tailgating is seen as one of the
worst behaviours, again it’s a matter of
interpretation: the person driving too close
behind you might not be telling you to get
out of the way; they might just not be paying
attention,” she says.
For his part, my tempestuous colleague
Alan is attempting to give up his angry ways,
a change of heart that’s largely been driven by
the experience of teaching his own children to
drive – and realising what a terrible example
he’s been setting.
“It’s taken me a while to get to this point,
and I do still get a bit pushy with right-hand-
lane hogs. I get up their backsides but I tend
not to high-beam them anymore, because
you need to be conscious of the fact that you
don’t know who’s in front of you – there might
be some lunatic and it can go from zero to
apocalyptic very quickly,” says Alan. “My
last bad one was a guy on the highway whoDodge Fury Road
Shine Lawyers advises that the
best way to stay safe on the road
is to drive courteously at all
times and avoid eye contact with
other motorists. If someone
starts abusing you, keep your
distance and do not respond. If
the aggressor follows you, do
not drive home; drive to a
hospital or police station or a
highly public area like a mall.
Stay in the car with the doors
locked and windows up. Do not get
out and confront them.Shine Lawyers also offers these
tips to avoid angry incidents:- Stay off your phone
- Avoid driving when tired
- Avoid caffeine or substances
that make you agitated - Play calming music
- Plan ahead and leave on time
- Follow the road rules
- Always use the “thank you” wave
- Do not tailgate
- Keep your hands on the wheel
decided to give me a brake test. So I pulled up
at the lights next to this huge-looking Maori
guy and said, ‘What the fuck are you doing,
you idiot?’ And he shouts back, ‘Did you
just call me black?’ ‘No, I just called you an
idiot’. And then it was on. We were out of the
car, screaming at each other, and only later I
thought, ‘Well, that could have ended badly’.”
Clearly, A lan is a work in progress.
Personally, speaking to Shaw about the
causes of road rage has been a kind of therapy,
because I recognise that what I’m really
reacting to is a kind of social snub, and that
becoming enraged about that is as absurd
as punching a stranger for stepping onto an
escalator before you.
But I wouldn’t say I’m cured, because when
the rage comes it comes too fast for things like
logic and rational thought to get a look in. I’ll
do my best. But just in case, I’d recommend
avoiding me on the road. Particularly if you’re
going to drive like an idiot.