ROAD RAGE: AVOIDANCE AND MANAGEMENT Road rage isn’t just someone yelling at a steering wheel—it’s a real pattern of aggressive driving that can quickly turn dangerous. As traffic gets worse and commutes drag on, understanding what really sparks road rage and how to steer clear of it matters more than ever. Why People Lose Their Cool in Traffic It’s easy to think road rage is just about bad drivers or heavy traffic, but it’s not that simple. Studies show it’s a tangled mess of personality, stress, and sometimes even deeper issues. People who are quick to anger or act on impulse tend to lose their patience faster behind the wheel. Layer on everyday frustrations—being late, crowded streets, that driver who just cut you off—and it’s a recipe for trouble. Researchers have even linked this all to underlying psychological tendencies (see Aggression and Violent Behavior; Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology). Most road rage doesn’t explode out of nowhere. It usually starts smal...