The first time I witnessed road rage was when I was in highschool. In fact, I was in the middle of the road rage.
I wrote more about it here, but in a nutshell: the car we were riding in was about to make a U – turn, other car refused to give way, cars went road racing, other car got scratched so the driver pulled over and pulled out a gun while our car sped away.
And if you watch the news regularly or you’re a city traffic veteran, you’ll know this is not an uncommon incident too.
It all starts with two (or more) drivers who’ve got quick tempers, possibly bad driving skills and big egos and you’ve got yourself a fast formula for road rage.
It’s bad enough seeing grown people fight and cuss over an incident that could have been prevented in the first place. It gets even worse when it all ends with one driver dead.
That’s disrespect for the road, disrespect for the gun and most of all, disrespect for human life.
And this won’t stop unless the grown ups start setting a good example. Remember those commercials that show how kids imitate what the adults do? Well take a look at this:
This video is part of the ‘I Respect the Road‘ campaign by AXA Car Insurance, an effort to call the attention of inexperienced drivers and bring respect on the roads of UK.
At first, it kinda looks funny with the kids’ colorful plastic cars and the adorable way they do their dialogues. Not to mention they all manage to look cute even if they are angry.
You’d think, ‘Oh that’s just a kids’ fight. Give them some candy and they’ll be okay in a minute.’
But when you see it for what it is, there’s nothing funny about it. Hot – headed inexperienced drivers with big egos don’t happen by accident, they are raised by example.
And do you notice how it’s always the men who are always involved in road rage incidents like this? Just saying.
So what to do about road rage? The AXA Respect On The Road campaign gets the answer from the commuters themselves. Part of their awareness efforts is a “Cab Cam” where they go around the city in a black taxi cab asking commuters what they think can be done to bring back respect on the road.
“Mayor Kevin” makes an interesting point about setting aside a lane for cyclists so they don’t conflict with the vehicles. In our part of the world, I believe this is already being done in Marikina.
But what I’m thinking is something along the lines of “Patience Management for Drivers” or maybe making it mandatory for drivers to learn road rules and driving etiquette. Having responsible drivers on the road can eliminate road rage. It’s common sense but it takes a lot of work.
In the meantime, awareness campaigns like these can hopefully act as a wake – up call for drivers and parents of future drivers to be more mindful of showing respect for the road, and everything else for that matter. Show your support for the campaign and like their Facebook page, spread their Youtube video or visit the campaign site.
Facebook fanpage: www.facebook.com/irespecttheroad
YouTube: www.youtube.com/respectontheroad
AXA website: https://www.axarespectontheroad.com/
The next time you head out for a drive with your kids, show them by example what respect on the road is all about. They’ll be better drivers for it.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
What a conscientious campaign. Well done AXA!
The dig at male drivers is a little below the belt(though perhaps with a truthful element)! I ve seen many female drivers in angry situations but reading this brought back memory of hearing of someone who had their window smashed as a result of road rage…Scary stuff.