Road Rage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Road Rage - Essay Example The study also concluded that reports of violent traffic incidents have increased about 7 percent every year since 1990" (www.alligator.org/edit/issues/97-fall/971117/a01rage.htm). Traffic can spell a day. Rush hour is becoming a major factor that can turn the next minute or the next hour into a blissful run or a nightmarish situation. The government is taking all driving issues very seriously. Safety measures are being improved and implemented. Errant and abusive drivers are being sought and penalized. However, citizens and agencies alike are not doing enough to make the highway a safer place for all people. "A call to NHTSA elicited that the two-thirds figure above probably had its origins in a statement made in July by NHTSA Administrator Ricardo Martinez to a House of Representatives Subcommittee on Surface transportation. What Dr. Martinez actually said was, "We estimate that about one-third of these crashes and about two-thirds of the resulting fatalities can be attributed to behavior associated with aggressive driving""(http://www.drivers.com/article/168). Over the past years, the number of deaths in road mishaps is a stable figure on the national statistics. People are working hard to address the situation. They find ways to counter the occurrence of heavy traffic. They increase personnel visibility at all points to be responsive to accidents. Motorists are educated about defensive driving and road safety. But with all the precautionary measures being applied to ensure a blissful pace on the highway, plans and methods to instill good values among drivers are nil. There is a big difference between situations involving accidents to a road spat between two ill-tempered motorists. Accidents are not planned. Preventive actions to avoid such situations come by way through the imposition of proper directives and regulations. "In contrast to the more popular crime control approach, a nontraditional application of crime prevention through environmental design, which focuses on traffic facilitation, is offered to address violent and aggressive drivers" (http://eab.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/35/5/621). A confrontation between individuals is another thing. Although, there are punitive laws against the uncontrolled behavior of people, what becomes questionable is the effectivity of such actions to prevent them from engaging again into violent confrontations on the road in the future. "The media couldn't talk enough about the awful carnage. Even a piece by the columnist William Safire, on the death of Princess Diana, was titled ROAD RAGE IN PARIS" (http://www.fumento.com/atlantic.html). It has clamored for the need for preventive measures on the road. People are encouraged to drive safely. They are told to watch the road, slow down, and to give way at intersections. But what if the situations are entirely different from what a regular motorist usually faces daily How do you react to a yell of an overtaking driver How about a driver who keeps on honking his horn even if the situation doesn't apply What must be done if a motorist suddenly gives the finger How do people react to these