I'm researching into road accidents which are caused by people being in an emotional state. Have any examples?

Question

I'm researching into road accidents which are caused by people being in an emotional state. Have any examples?

Answer 1

<<<<<Road Rage is as emotional as its gets>>>>>

Road rage is a term that signifies any display of violent confrontation between automobile drivers due to a conflict created during a driving situation. Although the term can be used for moderate acts of aggression (such as yelling or cursing), it typically refers to intense clashes where bodily harm to one of the drivers is the direct result. Typical examples of road rage-inspired behavior include obscene gestures, aggressive tailgating, verbal abuse, intentional highbeaming, and purposeful obstruction of other vehicles. In some instances, road rage can lead to shootings and the loss of life.

Road rage happens when a frustrating situation builds up until the drivers involved are no longer in control of their emotions. Unable to deal with such a situation in a relaxed manner, drivers respond with anger and belligerence. The mechanics of road rage generally play out according to the following model: a driver makes an aggressive maneuver, which causes a second driver to become angry. When the second driver responds to this perceived act of aggressive driving with hostile gestures or other displays of anger, it can trigger hostility in the offending driver. This mutual hostility can quickly escalate into verbal abuse or physical assault. Another potential road rage situation is when the offending driver does not return the anger, but becomes a victim of the offended driver's belligerent behavior. Even when the offending person drives away to avoid confrontation, the offended driver may follow them in an attempt to resolve the conflict through violence.

Road rage does not have to result from overtly aggressive driving. Several studies show that a significant number of road rage cases are caused when a driver waits until the end of an entrance lane to merge into freeway traffic. Many drivers consider this to be rude and disrespectful. Road rage can also build up from an accidental driving mistake or a misunderstanding between drivers. A driver may think he has the right of way and proceed to make an incorrect driving maneuver. In a different situation, a driver may perceive that there is enough room to make a lane change and unintentionally cut off another driver. In another example, a person may forget to indicate a lane change before moving into a different lane. The second driver may consider this aggressive driving and respond with shouting and violent gestures.

Road rage is mostly considered an American phenomenon. Since the mid-1980s the American press has increasingly been filled with road rage accounts in which drivers fight, shoot and kill one another. One study states that over 1200 road rage-related deaths occur every year in the United States. In a recent survey, about 90% of the people claimed to have experienced road rage within the previous year. Over half of those people conceded that they had lost control of their emotions during the incident. Although several theories are around to explain this phenomenon, most people attribute it to the extremely stressful driving conditions that exist in this country.

Incidents of road rage have been rising in recent years. There are several reasons why such road aggression is escalating. One of the major factors is the ever-growing number of people driving on the road. In the United States today, 180 million automobile drivers share a road system that has not been built to handle this amount of traffic. As a result, drivers increasingly deal with congestion and the frustrations that come with it. The high traffic volume means that drivers must constantly adapt their own driving to the sometimes erratic driving styles of others. Drivers must keep persistent look-out for random last minute lane changes, slow downs, and speed ups. This type of vigilance can create extremely stressful driving conditions. Other frustrations that accompany congestion include wasting time in traffic, defending against aggressive driving, and dealing with periodic hostile exchanges between drivers.

Because there are more drivers on the road, there is an increased number of daily exchanges between drivers. An exchange can be completely friendly, such as when a car slows down to let another car into a lane. However, there are times when such exchanges lead to acts of hostility between the drivers.

Another possible reason for road rage is the feeling of being endangered. Behavioral reseachers consider anger a natural response to perceived threats to our own lives, or those of our family and friends. Thus, when a person perceives another driver making a reckless driving maneuver that could potentially endanger lives, they may become angry. The offended driver may not know how to release this anger other than by acting aggressive towards the offending driver.

Answer 2

well like when your upset your more likely to go faster i guess.

Answer 3

I have a great story,I believe this happened around October of 1989 or 1990 on route 20A between Swanton,OH and Maumee,OH.My family has a large farm in Delta,OH and they were taking a semi-truck with a 45 foot trailer( 40 ton gross weight) load of grain to Anderson's grain elevator in Maumee just outside of Toledo,OH.The truck was traveling around 55 mph when a car went into the same lane and hit the truck head on,the driver was a woman in her 20's who was to be married in a couple of days but her fiancee decided he no longer wanted to get married so she left a suicide note and decided to drive into the path of a semi-tractor.She was killed instantly and the driver of the truck received minor injuries.The car was unrecognizable and the cab of the truck completely left the frame and went down the road about 100 feet.