The curious case of my mother's road rage (Road Rage)

Member Name: jesperado

Product:	Road Rage
Date:	25/02/09 (80 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An expression of an unconscious fear

Disadvantages: Can lead to altercations

I don't own a car or even have a driving licence but I have definitely experienced road rage from someone I would least have expected it from - my mother. Now, generally my mum is pretty mild-mannered, polite and friendly to everyone she meets but all of this seems to change as soon as she gets behind the wheel. The slightest instance of inconsiderate driving seems to send her into a rage I have never seen from her in any other situation. She swears, shouts and gestures at other motorists with reckless abandon and has on more than one occasion got out of her car and gone up to another car and berated the driver. For a 5 foot 2 50 year old woman with a gammy leg, she's very intimidating when she gets going, I've seen her strike fear into the hearts of many fellow road users.

My mother's outbursts of road rage got me thinking about how such a usually mild mannered person could become so angry so quickly and with very little provocation. My theory that it is borne of fear about driving as opposed to being genuine anger about the other driver. Whilst my mother is not an angry woman, she is something of a worrier. I believe that her road rage is actually an expression of her fear of driving. I think that whenever she sees another driver doing something she perceives as even slightly dangerous, she gets into a state of panic and imagines the worst case scenario such as a serious traffic accident. It seems to me that when ordinarily calm people have sudden expressions of anger, they are actually having a reaction to fear even if they do not realise it. Driving can be a cause of stress to many people as it involves high levels of concentration and as we all know, when that concentration slips it can have fatal consequences. This would explain why when my mother witnesses bad driving it leads her to have such an irrational overreaction.

Summary: Well, that's my theory anyway