Analysis of Traffic Rage as a Phenomenon - Essay Example

Traffic Rage Shirley McKenzie English 111 September 5, 2007 Road rage is a pretty common phenomenon all across the globe.This refers to a violent or angry behavior on the part of a driver whilst driving on the road towards the pedestrians, other vehicle drivers or just about any thing that hinders the smooth running of his vehicle. This eventually results in accidents or incidents of sheer magnitude on different roads, pathways and areas of intense traffic and congestion. Road rage is a sure sign of being in a state of aggression whilst on the road and it can lead to serious problems since police authorities are always on the look out for people who create disturbance and scenes on the road and in essence hinder the smooth running of vehicles on the pathways. However traffic rage is a wholly different phenomenon which deals with congestion of traffic on the roads when the traffic is caught up in a deadlock for hours and hours at a stretch. Traffic rage, similar to road rage brings in frustration, tension and all sorts of problems that the motorists usually face in such a situation. Traffic rage is essentially linked with the problem that a person is going through while he is unable to control his temper and anger in the wake of knowing that the vehicles behind him and in front of him are stuck in the same quagmire and he cannot do anything about it. This non-control of emotions and feelings and making them public in a physical or verbal sense is a direct example of what traffic rage can literally be like. An important factor here is to understand that the traffic rage does not lay courtesy the vehicle under question or objects that leads to it in the first place, rather it is due to the state of affairs of the person who undertakes the act of traffic rage which quintessentially governs the whole state of mind that he is in, forced or unforced. Furthermore, it also accounts to the person’s non-understanding nature and lack of thinking and eventually acting ability which leads him to flow with the emotions and feelings that he just fails to control the same and thus end up in problems at a later stage. On a more personal note, my traffic rage stems from the fact that I was getting late for work on that particular morning and there was just so much traffic that I knew for sure that I would end up being late at the office. I just could not make myself to understand the situation at hand and kept on continuing criticizing the government’s and law enforcement agencies’ state of affairs. I was constantly bickering within my car which everyone around (in their cars) could easily see and listen. No one could help me in such a situation since they were pretty much in the same state of helplessness and frustration as I was in, however the difference that I was facing a serious traffic rage within myself that had literally exploded at that time. I wanted peace within myself and that could have been made possible had the mess around me ended and my office been the final destination where I wanted to be at the end of the day. All said and done, this was not an easy thing since the traffic jam quadrupled my situation and tension. My usual day begins in a normal fashion but it is the aspect that comprises of running to work that makes me get all charged up for one reason or the other. The impending traffic jam also remains on my mind and I know that somehow or the other I would be late and would face the wrath of my boss for the same reason. I believe that what made me run late today was the fact that I watched a movie till late last night and that made me feel uncomfortably for the whole of the night, which naturally had an effect on my morning. Similar routines usually meant that I experienced rage within myself which manifested in the form of traffic rage every now and then. Then the events which kept happening today made me all the more angry and the rage within me kept out coming. I saw a number of events which literally changed my perspective on life and the traffic rage is a phenomenon which I would not hopefully experience in the coming times. What made me change my mind was the fact that I saw my sister delivering a baby on the side of the highway which gave me a huge shock to see her there in the first place and then I was happy later on that people came out of their cars and assisted my sister and her husband during this period. A few doctors also came to the rescue and thus the whole process of child birth was achieved without any difficulty whatsoever. People facilitated my immediate family members and this is one form of happiness that I can easily recount whilst mentioning the aftermath of the traffic rage that was passing through me. I congratulated my sister and her husband and gave them all my prayers and kissed the young baby who had been saved in one way or the other by the traffic of which I had fits about. I kept telling myself later that everything happens for a reason – a good enough reason, which literally makes the basis for good things to come in one’s life. Similarly, traffic jams and congestions on the road could be reduced by the people and the relevant authorities but having road rage is not the solution to the underlying problem. I had learned that value of life is much more than a mere traffic jam. The young baby that had entered the fold of our family made me paste a smile on my face for the rest of the day and made me remember the fact that traffic rage is indeed not the way to go about doing things. It has to end, for the all the goodness and decency in the world that exists around us. Word Count: 1,027 Read More