Road Safety
Since 1997, US therapists have been acting to certify road rage as a medical condition.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders already classifies road rage as an official mental disorder. The acts that are typically associated with the occurrence of road rage are caused by an intermittent explosive disorder. This conclusion was made from 9 200 surveys in the US between 2001 and 2003 that were funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. What causes this intermittent explosive disorder has not yet been described.
There are various outlooks on whether road rage is indeed a mental issue. One thing is for certain, though—it is a relatively serious act. It is described in the American Heritage Dictionary as violent behaviour exhibited by drivers in traffic, often as a manifestation of stress: “Motorists in the United States fear road rage, and the world’s largest auto club wants anger-management education as part of the penalty for such behaviour” (Brad Liston).
Road rage can endanger public safety. What makes it a tricky situation is that it isn’t possible to realise intent by only external observation. This means that when police stop so-called “road ragers”, they can only be charged with minor offences like reckless or careless driving.
Road rage is likely to cause serious injury and even death, and road rage incidents will be penalised more than those caused by simple negligence. Websites have picked up on the road rage phenomenon and many of them are now dedicated to listing the license plate numbers of dangerous road rage drivers.
