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Road Rage
Matthew James
Science, Technology, Environment and Resources Group
Anger Breeds Contempt
Growing reports of violence and retributions on the nation's roads,
following well-publicised American trends over the last few years, are
cause for concern. Some commentators suggest that this 'road rage' phenomenon
threatens social cohesion and requires prompt amelioration. Otherwise,
Australia's roads may become battlefields for antisocial behaviour.
Aggressive and violent behaviours have occurred on our roads for many
years, but lately the incidence appears to be rising. This is probably
because stress from growing traffic congestion causes anger, frustration
and fear. The private anonymity of vehicles seems to promote antisocial
responses. A clash between an ageing car fleet and more powerful new cars
may also contribute.
While psychologists may term such aggression 'need for dominance' or
'territorial defence' stemming from overcrowding, these terms do not help
us solve the problem. Australians have been long used to wide open spaces
and do not readily accept crowded roads and traffic jams.
Road rage exists in many forms, from mild to very extreme. It includes
verbal abuse; rude gestures and horn use; tailgating and selfish lane
changing; and extends to dangerous manoeuvres, arguments, deliberate collisions,
fights and even murder in a few well-publicised cases.
Besides the psychological trauma and possible injury, indirect effects
are speeding, ignoring road signs, poor lane discipline and lack of courtesy.
Road rage may also be costly in terms of higher fuel consumption, tyre
and brake wear and the repair of collision damage.
Aggressive Driving
A Scottish study found that one quarter of drivers had given chase to
others who had offended them in some way, while eight per cent had actually
had a fight with other motorists. The British Automobile Association reports
that nine per cent of drivers were victims of either verbal or physical
attack last year. American surveys suggest that young male drivers dominate
road rage.
The Australian Associated Motor Insurers crash index shows aggressive
driving as the cause of an increasing rate of rear-end collisions and
incidents due to failure to give way. This is despite a general fall in
the road toll, improved driver training and better roads. While such events
may not directly represent road rage, they do suggest related factors.
Pedestrians and cyclists are not excluded from road rage. Harassment
can be directed at them by aggressive motorists or their passengers. Some
pedestrians and cyclists may not obey road rules, causing annoyance or
even danger to motorists; while motorists may forget that pedestrians,
cyclists and drivers have equal rights to road space use. Nonetheless,
there is no nationwide set of rules to address road rage, or for road
safety in general (see box) despite some effort in that direction.
National Road Safety Law
Local, State and Federal Governments together handle road safety programs.
However, they are yet to agree on uniform road laws for all parts of Australia.
Among current proposals are a 50 km/hr speed limit on suburban streets,
left turns against red traffic lights, bicycles on footpaths, bus priority
and school zone speed limits of 25 km/hr. Note that not all States use
speed cameras for law enforcement. The Australian Transport Council considers
these and other road safety issues.
Since 1991, the National Road Transport Commission has developed uniform
and consistent rules for vehicles designed to replace the basic traffic
Regulations in all States and Territories. However, the rules await adoption.
They do not cover more serious offences such as drink driving, fines and
demerit points, driver licensing and registration, or bus seat belts.
Changing to the new rules would involve a once-only cost of new signs,
line markings, and education to total $75 million.
Remedies
Road safety is a social health issue that accordingly deserves wide
discussion in the community. It requires clear guidelines and driver training.
Victorian magistrates want the specific power to suspend licences for
road rage behaviour and to require offending drivers to attend anger control
and defensive driving courses. In the long term, technology may provide
some controls in the form of ITS (see box).
| ITS
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) include electronic toll-charging
devices, highway message signs and on-board vehicle navigation systems
able to assess road and traffic conditions. Red light cameras and
speed radar and laser detectors are common examples. More advanced
ITS may involve vehicle speed controls and convoy flow regulation
that ensure proper separation between all vehicles.
ITS aim to utilise electronic technology and communications in
vehicles and along roads to improve safety and traffic flows. Experts
claim that ITS could reduce traffic congestion by twenty per cent
and accidents by eight per cent by the year 2011, although at a
high cost. Over the next decade though, we may expect improvements
such as systems for handling navigation, vehicle monitoring, emergency
signalling, congestion avoidance and adaptive cruise controls. Such
physical restrictions may well help curb road rage in the long term
but they are still years away in full practice. They also have 'fail-safe'
implications in the case of failure.
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In the short-term, though, road rage victims need some defensive and
survival techniques. Police and road safety education programs advise
victims of aggressive drivers to avoid eye contact and keep their distance,
and drive to the nearest police station if necessary. Motorists should
keep doors and windows locked and never carry weapons. Drivers could use
or pretend to use a mobile telephone to request police or other assistance.
In the case of very bad drivers, one suggestion is that people should
be encouraged to report bad road behaviour. While one or two reports may
not amount to much, if a report database shows certain motorists being
reported by a large number of others, something is obviously wrong. A
national telephone service could provide this database. The new NSW road
rage hotline on 133 112 is a step in this direction, but requires expansion
and wider use.
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