By Alyson Ward
Staff Writer for The Baylor Lariat
Phelicia Colvin wasn't driving quickly enough to satisfy the woman traveling behind her. The woman tried to pass her and couldn't, and both of them became impatient. On the crowded highway, neither had the time or the tolerance to deal with the situation.
As the woman passed Colvin, she rolled down her window and flicked her cigarette into Colvin's car. And Colvin, a Port Arthur sophomore, did what any self-respecting highway traveler would do.
"I got in front of her and I slowed down so she couldn't go in front of me," she said.
Colvin said she encounters aggressive, angry drivers when she drives between Waco and her hometown. But dangerous road situations -- with tires screeching and cigarettes flying through windows -- can happen anywhere tires meet pavement.
A rise in occurrances
Road rage is a growing problem, with more incidents and accidents reported every year. More drivers are acting on their impatience and cutting off other motorists, tailgating slower cars or yelling and gesturing at people as they drive beside them on busy roads. And the majority of the drivers prone to road rage are males between 18 and 26.
But the out-of-control aggression making the highways unfriendly is still a relatively new problem, and no one has figured out yet exactly what causes it -- or how to stop it.
"We're seeing an increase (in road rage incidents) here in Texas, and we're just beginning to study it," said Cindy Parks, traffic safety specialist for the Texas Department of Transportation. "A lot of people turn into a different person behind the wheel of a car."
In fact, behavior that's often uncharacteristic -- acting out anger and victimizing other drivers -- is not just a hot topic in traffic safety. Mental health professionals are beginning to look behind the acts of rage and find out what exactly causes them.
Mental conditions
Road rage is considered a serious problem, said Dr. Michael Frisch, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience. He said the next issue of the Mental Disorder Manual, published by the American Psychiatric Association, will probably add road rage to its list of disorders.
The uncontrollable anger drivers act on is often caused by minor injustices, Frisch said -- a driver pulling out in front of another driver, or a car moving too slowly in the fast lane.
"The idea is that the person's anger is completely out of proportion to the provocation," Frisch said.
Reactions to this provocation start in the limbic system of the brain, Frisch said; this primitive part, not higher cortical regions of the brain, controls the impulses.
"Some people refer to it as a sort of emotional high-jacking," Frisch said.
Reasons for The Rage
What unleashes this anger? The No. 1 cause is an injustice caused by accident or misunderstanding.
"People tend to get angry when they feel like they've been treated unfairly," Frisch said -- and so they demonstrate their anger to the offender, attempting to teach them a lesson. But the other driver may not think he or she caused a problem at all.
When drivers disagree about who had the right of way or who should be driving in the left lane, an "empathy failure" creates a misunderstanding and enrages both of them.
"The other person is just as convinced that their way is right and fair," Frisch said.
For instance, a driver meandering along the highway at 55 mph may not think his or her speed is affecting any other drivers. But they might be delaying impatient drivers behind them.
"The thing that annoys me the most is people who drive slow in the fast lane," said David Gamradt, a Dallas junior. "If they do that, I will ride their bumper until they get out of my way."
Petra Carey, a Fort Worth freshman, said she encounters hostile drivers primarily during rush hour, and it's especially tense when the roads are crowded with 18-wheelers.
There's something mysterious about what causes road rage. People who are normally not aggressive or confrontational can become bullies when they're behind the wheel.
"(Studies show) people are more anti-social when they think they're anonymous," he said. "Some people trace it to a general lack of civility in society, and that we are more anonymous to each other."
It's really all about anger control, Frisch said. Drivers prone to road rage can work on handling their anger and avoiding unpleasant encounters.
"One of the antidotes to anger is to try to see things from the other driver's perspective," he said.
If an angry driver can think, "There's a good reason why the person's doing what they're doing," Frisch said, he or she can calm down and see it from the other person's point of view.
Controlling Aggression
Drivers prone to road rage can try some other techniques to control their anger. Frisch said an angry motorist can choose to not let an anonymous driver ruin your day -- thinking, "I don't want to give that anonymous driver that power" makes the situation seem less important.
"You may choose not to focus on other people's driving behavior because you're not really in a position to give them a driving lesson," he said.
Finally, distractions -- soothing music, books on tape -- are also a method drivers can try in order to remain calm while on the road, he said.
"Giving in to impulsive anger is dangerous and inconvenient," he said -- provoking someone is dangerous, and there's little to be gained from anger.