PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — More aggressive driving and road rage incidents have been reported recently in and around Philadelphia.
Just last week, a 22-year-old man was charged with murder in the road rage shooting death of 54-year-old King Hua, who officials say was driving slower than the rest of traffic in Delaware County.
Alex Caroline Robboy, a behavioral expert and founder of The Center for Growth, a counseling and therapy practice in Philadelphia, said there are several reasons that can cause a driver to lose their temper, but she feels there’s been an increase over the last couple of years due to COVID-19 stress.
“The pandemic has made road rage actually a lot worse because we have lost the skills of interacting with people, the human-ness, and we’re just stuck in our own worlds and our brain is left to its own demise,” she said.
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So much so that in 2020, more than 5,600 crashes statewide were related to aggressive driving, according to the Pennsylvania State Police. Nearly 100 of them were fatal. In 2021, aggressive driving deaths rose by as much as 40%.
Robboy said something so minuscule can tip someone over the edge.
“You could be having a bad day and it’s just too much, and it’s like your brain stops being able to process everything,” she said. “It could be that you are extremely excited to be getting to work. You have a new promotion, you have a lot of things happening, and you’re under pressure.
“If you don’t have the ability to go where you need to go quickly enough, there’s something in your brain that shuts down, saying it’s emotional overload.”
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For people with aggressive driving habits — like cutting others off, tailgating, yelling or gesturing angrily — Robboy said try to imagine the drivers around you are friends and enjoy the experience of the ride. Take a breath and take time to get to the destination.
For those on the receiving end of road rage, she advises the best thing to do is not engage or make eye contact. If it becomes a dangerous situation, call the police.