Study says more stressed out women engaging in road rage

Getting angry behind the wheel? You’re not alone. A new
survey finds a dramatic rise in road rage, especially with
women.

Fifty-eight percent of those who drive to work say they
experience
road rage at times while traveling to and from the office,
according to the new survey from the online jobs site
CareerBuilder.com. And 1-in-10 admitted they actually got
in a fight.

Perhaps most surprising, the study found more women
reporting they experience road rage than men, 61 percent
compared to 56 percent of men.

“Road rage is most often associated with running late and
far commutes,” says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of
human resources at CareerBuilder. “Planning ahead and
taking advantage of flexible work arrangements can help
alleviate stress levels and set a more positive vibe for
the workday.”

These days, that’s a lot easier said than done. Commutes
are longer and for many, the stresses greater. All
that time in the car can make for short fuses.

Followers on co-host Linda Thomas’ Twitter feed offered up their own opinions about the
findings, especially the gender differences:

Ric: “Men probably are the more physical road ragers but
women certainly let fly in the verbal stakes.”

Mark: “This sounds about right as I’ve gotten far more
“fingers” from women than men. However, I think women just
verbally rage.”

Jill: “Could be because we are more apt to take things
personally.”

Deb: “Possibly true. We have a lot of pressure to getting
from A-B w/in time limits. (e.g. picking up kids, getting
to work, etc.)”

Co-host Tom Tangney speculates one of the
reasons more women expressed feelings of road road rage is
because the car is one of the few places they have the
freedom to actually let their feelings out.

“The car is the great equalizer, protects frustrated women
who don’t feel safe actually getting out of the car for a
confrontation,” he says.

The conversation that ensued on Seattle’s Morning News
also highlighted a different class of driver.

“I’m not a road rager, I’m a justice driver,” admitted co-
host Linda Thomas. “I just like to make sure that people
who are driving are following the rules. If I can help
them by pointing those out, I’ll do that.”

Producer Dan Restione says his 84-year-old mother is an
extreme case.

“When she perceives someone is sneaking along in a lane
and they are going to eventually merge, she will go crazy.
She will look at them and yell and she will make sure her
car is within a millimeter of the one in front so there’s
no way that person can cut in,” Restione says.