Final

Ending the Anger or Should I Say Rage

Road rage is probably the most tangible reason that Arizona has so many accidents each year, almost half being fatal at 45%(Motor Vehicle Fatalities). The large problem with road rage is the fact that there are too many cars on the road and not enough roads for the cars. I drive to school every morning for an hour and a half and people cut each off constantly. I have almost been in many accidents because a car in front of me gets cut off and slams on the breaks. “Rush-hour crashes, many of which are caused by the aggressive driver, are a major contributor to congestion and 10 percent of them contribute to a second crash” (Aren’t the Same). If road rage is to be stopped people must take actions in preventing the rage. Possibly if a person is a dangerous driver, and has been cited for it, there license plate should be marked so others know. Thus, if someone gets cut off they should call in the license plate and that person should receive a citation. Good drivers should be rewarded at the end of every year with lowered insurance or a payment.

The dangers of road rage would be cut down exponentially if a person who suffered from it was clearly marked for all to see. A huge reason to steer clear is the fact that there is a chance that the crazy person is carrying a gun. “Overall 11% of drivers carried a gun with them in their vehicle” (Armed and Dangerous). It would be terrible if a person got cut off and tried to get back around and the person with road rage pulled out a gun and shot them. And all for what, getting home two seconds faster? Instead of getting shot, a person should be able to call in the road rage offender and that person will be cited for their dangerous driving.

When a person is cut off it would make perfect sense to call in the license plate if the crime was out of spite or anger, hence, road rage. “Aggressive driving is defined as a progression of unlawful driving actions such as: speeding, improper or excessive lane changing, failing to signal intent, failing to see that movement can be made safely, or, improper passing” (Aggressive Driving and Road Rage). Road rage driving is a crime and therefore, if a person can call in a license plate of a drunk driver, they should also be able to call in an unlawful angry driver. This is the only logical thinking that can be done in this situation in order to cut down on the crazy drivers of Arizona; and so, a safe and careful driver should be rewarded at the end of the year.

Dangerous driving should be punished and opposite, good driving should be rewarded. At the end of the year, a good driver should be allowed to decide together with their insurance company if they want to lower the cost of driving insurance or get a money reward. Now I understand that people who are not safe will find a way around the reward by bribing people they crashed into but in the end, it will lower the percentage of crazy drivers and road rage in the Valley. “Many “road rage” incidents have resulted from citizens overreacting and allowing their ego to stand in the way of common sense and good judgment, rather than safely reporting aggressive driving incidents” (Aggressive Driving/Road Rage). If people would just sow down and use their brain, Arizona would be a much safer place to live because the worry of dangerous drivers would go down exponentially.

Road rage is a leading cause in the death toll of Arizona’s drivers. If people just took a couple extra seconds to cool down and think before they acted rashly, there would be no worry of being killed because of some idiot driver. Road rage and aggressive driving are a monster problem with few differences:

Aggressive Driving vs. Road Rage Driving


Road Rage

"Anger Toward Another Driver Elements"

Hostility Can Cause

Rude Gestures Confrontation

Honking the Horn

Aggressive Maneuvering

Aggressive Driving

"One who operates a vehicle in a bold or unsafe manner"

Tailgating Can Result

Speeding In Citations

Illegal Lane Changes

Red Light Running

Causes:

Competition Among Drivers

Congestion - Traffic - Construction Zones

Frustation

(Road Rage). When a person encounters someone with road rage they should just call in the license plate and get out of the way because there is no sense in taking a chance of getting shot or something stupid. Arizona would be a safe place to drive if drivers paid no attention to road rage and just let that person do what they want and not challenge. This is the best way to cut back on the dangerousness of road rage and the accidents it causes. All of these options are very possible to do and the laws are easily followed if “cool down” time was taken. The law should possibly take it a little harder on dangerous drivers and Arizona would be a recognizably safer place to drive.

Crazy people may say, “Hey road rage is going to happen no matter what the consequences or rewards are.” I agree with this but, if the law toughens up for one year, people will see a blatant difference. It may be ridiculous to have police everywhere patrolling for crazy drivers because this would cause more traffic and slower driving, too slow. Isn’t that the point though, people are driving too fast to start with, this is the while reason road rage is a problem. As I have proven, there really is no reasonable rebuttal that has any evidence it back it up. People may complain that traffic is too bad but is that ten or fifteen minutes worth people’s lives? Leave for your destination earlier to make up for the lost time and to stay away from the worry of rushing home or to an appointment.

The future holds many great opportunities for the Arizona population and increase in safe driving is one of them. Arizona is one of the worst states for driving because we have so many cars and not enough roads. In the future, if we crack down on our driving laws, Arizona will become one of the top five safest places to drive. If the state bands together and our government put together some laws that protect our safety, Arizona will rid itself of road rage drivers and there will be no worries on the road. Being cut off or shot will never be a thought for an Arizona driver again. This is the future of Arizona and the end of road rage. The state will conquer the unlawful driving even if it takes our government and citizens a few years to neutralize our mental block. Crazy drivers will be stopped!

Works Cited

Aggressive Driving and Road Rage. State of Arizona Public Safety. June 2004. April 22,

2007

Road Rage and Aggressive Driving. Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. Mar.

2005. April 22, 2007

The Official Website of About: Phoenix. About: Phoenix. Mar. 2006 April 22, 2007

The Official Website of the British Medical Journal. British Medical Journal. Feb 2003.

April 22, 2007

The Official Website of Department of Public Safety. Depatment of Public Safety. Aug.

2003. April 22, 2007

The Official Website of National Center of Biotechnology Information. National Center

Of Biotechnology Information. Nov. 2002. April 22, 2007

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