![]() In Mississauga, Canada a driver of a van was run over by a pickup truck during the truck driver's fit of road rage ( Toronto Star, 17 June, 2000). ![]() The following stories represent brief excerpts of road rage reports from the popular press and suggest that road rage is indeed a global phenomenon. However, my findings also indicate that road rage is by no means limited to Western societies. And in fact, my findings - which due to a relative dearth of scholarly research are based largely on my analysis of 33 newspaper and magazine reports covering a three-year period from June 1997 to July 2000 - do suggest that the phenomenon of road rage is a more frequent occurrence in Britain, Canada, and the United States than in other countries. When I first began researching the phenomenon coined "road rage" by the British tabloid press (Stephen, 1999), I expected that most incidents and concerns would be limited to the industrialized societies of the West, which are generally considered to be more fast-paced, individualistic, and congested than less industrialized nations. Ultimately, it is hoped that further analysis will support efforts to resolve the phenomenon of road rage. This 2-part study was conducted to: 1) more closely examine the conflict phenomenon associated with growing reports of aggression and violence on the roadways, and 2) present a conflict model analysis of road rage that might prompt discussion and further research among CR theorists. When both cars pull to the side of the road and the drivers exit their vehicles, what do you do? These scenarios are true experiences of "road rage," but they do not tell the whole story. In response, your driver becomes angry and begins to yell and make obscene gestures to the driver ahead, who then signals for your driver to join him on the roadside to settle their rising annoyance with each other. Eventually, he begins to flash his headlights and honk the horn at the slower driver, who retaliates by driving even slower. When your driver approaches a car ahead of him going about 15 miles per hour slower than he is, he jokingly begins to speculate aloud about the I.Q. Everyone knows that the movie has already started and is keenly aware of the driver's intent to "make-up time" by speeding. You're a passenger in a vehicle on your way to a movie theatre with a group of friends. Then, infuriated at the reckless motorist, your driver moves to the right lane, aligns herself with the offending motorist, yells at the motorist, and then proceeds to toss a bottle of Gatorade out of the window to hit the motorist's car. You're traveling in the left lane along a major interstate as a passenger in a sports utility vehicle at the rate of 85 mph when all of a sudden a motorist recklessly veers in front of your vehicle forcing your driver to hit the brakes in order to avoid a collision. The Phenomenon of Road Rage: Complexities, discrepancies and opportunities for CR analysis Online Journal for Peace and Conflict Resolution
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