birthday. What should have been a 35 minute drive home turned into 2.5 hours of gridlock and delays due to traffic, construction, and poor navigation choices.
It was a perfect opportunity to see road rage at work, yet there were no angry outbursts, no dangerous or aggressive drivers in sight. Given that road rage is such a HOT topic right now, here are my thoughts on why road rage occurs and why we didn't see it during 2 hours of gridlock.
Anger shows up when one or more of these four conditions are present:
- rules are broken
- boundaries are violated
- needs/expectations are unmet
- goal attainment is thwarted
This happens often when we are on the road!
I believe the reason people stayed calm during our multi-hour ordeal was this:
- No-one was violating the rules of the road. Everyone was respectfully staying in place. A few people turned back to try to find a better alternate route, but they did so safely.
- No boundaries were violated. There was no aggressive driving (none of us could move!), and people were being as patient as they could be given the circumstances.
- Our need to get home was not being met, but given that traffic was clearly locked down, our expectation of a very long wait was clearly established. Because we knew and EXPECTED to be sitting in traffic for a while, there was no escalation of angry feelings. We would have only felt anger had our expectations been for a quick commute.
- We knew that one way or another, we were going to make it home. Since we were not in a rush, and the goal was only delayed, not thwarted, we were all good, and happy to be patient.
When people decide their needs, rules, or boundaries are more important than everyone else's, that's when things can go sideways on the road.
It has been my honour and privilege to speak with the media over the several days about the realities of road rage. See the link below to read the Global News article that started it all.
My new book, The Rise of Rage is now available for pre-order at Amazon! Reserve your copy today!
The Rise of Rage by Julie A. Christiansen
Road Rage is Heating Up in Canada - Global News Report, June 28, 2023
