Road rage is a very common thing, and even if we are not trying to have it, sometimes when alone in a car it can be hard to remember that manners exist while driving and that insulting others is not such a good use of your time and energy. Of course, it can sometimes feel relaxing to yell at other drivers for all the things they are doing wring according to your standards, but this might actually be detrimental to your mental health and can actually land you in hot water if the driver you are insulting also has a temper.
There are a few reasons for road rage, each one different and specific, and while it does matter why you have decided to unleash your temper in this manner, we need to remember that we are still in public and not in the comfort of our home or therapist office and that other cars around us can see and, if you are particularly loud, hear what we are saying, so we need to treat driving as the public activity that it is and not an isolated practice.
Reasons why you might want to yell from your car while driving
While it would be better not to have road rage at all, sometimes it is not that easy and it cannot be helped, so it is important to figure out the causes so that we can correct them and live a better healthier life that does not harm our mental health.
The first cause is general stress that we just choose to release in this situation. While someone cutting you off, tailgating you or “making you be late” by driving like a snail is a very annoying experience, on a good day when you are not stressed it would be something that you are able to just shrug off. But if external sources of stress like accumulated pressures from work or relationship strain are added to the mix, the car can become the perfect place to let those feelings out and describe them to the other driver.
This is not a good way to deal with your feelings, as even though it can cause a bit of stress relief, it is not dealing with the root cause of the problem and you may not be as calm and collected after the incident as you may think you are.
The second reason is that you feel invisible in your car and you can use this sense to feel empowered to express yourself in a way that you would never do in public. This is where he remainder that it is not a private space comes in handy, as there may actually be repercussions even if you do not think so. Plus, there are healthier ways to express yourself and your feelings, like therapy.
The third reason is that for some people, their car serves as an extension of their identity. Behind the wheel, the road can start to feel like personal space, something you temporarily own, and when another driver tailgates, cuts you off, or slows you down, it can trigger a sense of invasion. This perceived encroachment often sparks emotional reactions, including angry outbursts or insults, as a way to reestablish control and defend that space.
The final reason can just be that your environment has just ended your patience. Dealing with constant gridlock, tight schedules, frequent hold-ups, loud environments, and uncomfortable weather can gradually wear you down. These overlapping stressors chip away at your patience, making you more reactive. As a result, something as minor as another driver forgetting to signal can ignite an outsized response, an emotional release fueled by everything you’ve been holding in.