Ever since I moved to Massachusetts, I have grappled with a term used to describe the erratic (that's being generous) habits of Massachusetts drivers: Massholes. I don't like the term, and I especially don't like how cavalierly the term explains poor driving by anyone with a Massachusetts license plate. People equate 'Massholes' with road rage, aggressive driving, and exorbitant insurance rates.
Is this definition legitimate?
A 2007 study of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas concluded that the cities with the least courteous drivers (most road rage) are Miami, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, and Boston. The cities with the most courteous drivers (least road rage) are Minneapolis, Nashville, St. Louis, Seattle, and Atlanta.
In 2003, Commonwealth and local police issued approximately 148,000 citations related to aggressive driving, 17,950 of which involved a crash (the Governor’s Highway Safety Bureau defines aggressive driving as two or more violations of an aggressive nature, such as speeding, tailgating, or improper lane changes).
The study Controlling Road Rage: A Literature Review and Pilot Study defines road rage as "an incident in which an angry or impatient motorist or passenger intentionally injures or kills another motorist, passenger, or pedestrian, or attempts or threatens to injure or kill another motorist, passenger, or pedestrian."
"Road rage" and "aggressive driving" are not synonymous. Road rage is uncontrolled anger that results in violence or threatened violence on the road; it is criminal behavior. Aggressive driving does not rise to the level of criminal behavior. Aggressive driving includes tailgating, abrupt lane changes, and speeding, alone or in combination. These potentially dangerous behaviors are traffic offenses, but are not criminal behavior.
When you're driving on the Mass Pike and you witness any of the latter, it's aggressive driving. It's annoying, it's dangerous, it's inconsiderate... But it's not road rage.
Definitions of road rage vary and often go unstated. In the aforementioned study, road rage is defined as an incident in which "an angry or impatient motorist or passenger intentionally injures or kills another motorist, passenger, or pedestrian, or attempts or threatens to injure or kill another motorist, passenger or pedestrian." In this sense, road rage incidents can be distinguished from other traffic incidents by their willful and criminal nature. They are serious crimes that just happen to occur in the roadway environment.
Not surprisingly, road rage incidents are most commonly reported to have occurred on urban freeways. Urban area non-freeways follow closely thereafter; the fewest reports of road rage are from rural non-freeways.
More and more drivers contribute to worsening traffic and more congestion. Behind the wheel, people are increasingly stressed. This leads to acting out behavior that can, if combined with other instigating factors, lead to aggressive driving and potentially road rage.
If you are confronted by an aggressive driver:
* Control your anger to avoid escalating the situation.
* Attempt to safely get out of his or her way.
* Avoid eye contact or obscene gestures.
* If a serious incident occurs, contact the nearest police agency.
* If using a cell phone, pull over at a safe location and dial 911.
Each of us has a responsibility to drive carefully and considerately. We have a long way to go before we unearn the 'Massholes' moniker.
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