Road Rage

            
             Having problems dealing with aggressiveness while out on the road? This is called having road rage. Many Americans have road rage, but do not want to admit to it, or may not even realize that they are aggressive drivers. In the past six years, aggressive drivers have injured twelve thousand, six hundred and ten people and killed two hundred and eighteen. This does not include the hundreds or thousands of other incidents that are never reported. Wayne Payne and Dale Hahn, the authors of this article "Rage on the Road", do an excellent job of helping the reader to understand the danger of aggressive driving. The two authors explain that, road rage, being an extremely serious problem in America today, may be avoided by understanding the characteristics of an aggressive driver the causes of aggressive driving, and how to avoid getting involved with road rage and aggressiveness. .
             Studies by Payne and Hahn read that men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six are the most aggressive drivers. There are many factors that can add up to rage on the road such as, work building up, commuting, and even stress at home. There may subsist other reasons for men to be aggressive drivers, "many of these men are poorly educated, and some have criminal records or histories of violence and substance.
             abuse", explain Hahn and Payne. Agreeing with these viewpoints, maybe if the government took charge and made it more difficult to gain a license, then many of these people would not be on the road. Women also play a big roll in aggressiveness on the road. While the men's risks have dropped, the number of fatal accidents involving women drivers has increased. The number has increased because, "more women are on the road at riskier times, but women are also increasingly displaying the more aggressive driving tactics common among men", the authors clarify. Since people commonly think of themselves as "better than average" drivers, they do not even realize that being so aggressive on the road to lead to serious outcomes.