Operating a motor vehicle is one of our greatest privileges, which carries with it great responsibility.
It allows us to get where we’re going with a semblance of freedom, so long as we follow the rules of the road.
Those rules pertain to proper methods of changing lanes, passing slower vehicles and obeying speed limits.
And while the act of driving is essentially a group of individuals doing their best to abide by those rules in their own way, every now and then someone becomes enraged by the way someone else is operating their vehicle. Recently, it seems as though road rage incidents are becoming more common.
Thursday it was reported that two Picayune residents were charged in a Wednesday road rage incident that involved another driver being shot in the head.
But these suspects not the only ones accused of causing bodily harm or property damage in an act of this sort on our nation’s streets. A quick search on the Internet shows that at least five other incidents of road rage have occurred in the past week across the country, some of which also involved gunfire.
So what is causing ire on the roads? While nothing is concrete, it could be the additional vehicles on the roads today, lack of respect for the safety of others, the faster pace of life which causes people more stress or any number of other factors. But what is clear is that something needs to be done to curb the aggressive driving that can lead to a person’s death.
If these drivers would take a second to reflect on the consequences should a person be hurt or die due to road rage, they may resist the urge to cut someone off, ram another vehicle or fire their gun at another driver.
It may be annoying to have to wait another five minutes to get to your destination because another driver feels more comfortable driving at a slower speed than you, but keep in mind; it’s better to get there late than not at all.