Ep 17: Road Rage and How To Defuse It

Episode 17: Road Rage and Social Driving – Why It’s Not Just You Out There
Hosted by Randy Keith | Mastering the Commute

We’ve all been there: you get cut off, your heart races, and suddenly the road feels more like a battleground than a commute. But what if I told you that road rage isn’t just about you—or them? It’s about all of us.

In this eye-opening episode, we explore:

• My personal brush with road rage, and what I’ve seen in two decades of traffic reporting.
• Real-life stories—from drivers in Phoenix, Denver, and Boston—that prove how fast things can escalate.
• Surprising stats: Road rage incidents involving firearms are up nearly 500%.
• The science of social driving and how our emotions shape the road.
• AAA’s list of the top road rage triggers (bet you’ve experienced most of them).
• How to defuse an angry encounter behind the wheel—and why de-escalation might save your life.
• 5 actionable tips to help you start each drive with a calmer mindset.

🎧 Bonus: Hear audio cues and reference clips, including dashcam footage, interviews, and news coverage, at
 📍 freewaytrafficexpert.com/episode-17

📬 Got a story about road rage or a moment where you chose calm instead of chaos? Email me at: freewaytrafficexpert@gmail.com.

Chapters

• 0:00 Cold Open
• 0:21 Intro to Road Rage Stories
• 0:49 Childhood Story
• 1:23 More Real Road Rage Incidents
• 1:45 Road Rage Statistics
• 2:12 Driving is a Social Activity
• 3:15 What Triggers Road Rage?
• 4:10 It Escalates Fast from Middle Fingers
• 4:52 How to De-Escalate
• 5:51 Mindset Matters - Before You Start
• 6:33 Closing/Call to Action
• 7:18 Final Close and Comment Reminder

Transcript

MASTERING THE COMMUTE - EPISODE 17

"Road Rage and Social Driving: Why It's Not Just You Out There"

[BUMPER MUSIC IN - URBAN TRAFFIC SOUNDS FADE UP]

COLD OPEN

[Actual news clip fades in briefly] "Breaking news tonight - a violent road rage incident on I-95 ended with gunfire during rush hour traffic..."

HOST: You know that feeling? When someone cuts you off and suddenly your heart's racing, your grip tightens on the wheel, and you feel this urge to... do something about it?

Yeah. We've all been there.

I'm Randy Keith, and this is Mastering the Commute your 6 minute Traffic fix… Episode 17, Road rage.

00:21 INtro section 

[INTRO MUSIC SWELLS AND FADES QUICKLY]

SEGMENT 1: PERSONAL CONNECTION (0:30-1:15)

In my ten years covering traffic, one moment stands out vividly. I was driving past a section of the Hollywood Freeway South in my twenties when a news story came on the radio. A driver had been shot and killed at that exact spot just the day before—pulled over during a road rage incident. Driving past that same section of guardrail gave me chills.

And I learned about road rage early. 

00:43 When I was nine, my grandfather and I were driving when someone cut us off. My grandfather shouted something I'd never heard him say before, and my grandma was sure the other guy was going to pull a gun out... That's the thing about road rage—it can transform even the gentlest people.

[TRAFFIC SOUNDS FADE IN BRIEFLY]

01:11 Back in the '90s, L.A. was infamous for road rage incidents. But these days? It's everywhere. We're not just driving cars anymore. We're driving emotions. And if we don't learn to control them, the results can be deadly.

SEGMENT 2: REAL INCIDENTS

[News clip audio] "Disturbing footage shows a driver exiting his vehicle during a traffic stop, approaching another car with what appears to be a tire iron..."  

01:25 {Stinger]

News reports from Houston last year described how a simple honk turned into a roadside shooting that left one driver critically injured.

A listener from Denver wrote in about witnessing a terrifying incident where a mother with her child in the backseat deliberately rammed another driver who had cut her off.

[Another clip fades in] "Video shows a man clinging to the hood of an SUV traveling down a Massachusetts highway after what police say began as a minor fender bender..."

These are real people. With families. Jobs. Lives beyond that moment when anger took over.

01:53 Road Rage Statistics Increase 
According to the NHTSA, road rage incidents involving firearms have increased by nearly 500% in the last decade. Five hundred percent. Let that sink in.

The most disturbing part? The incidents that make the news are just a fraction of what happens every day. For every viral dashcam video, there are hundreds of near-misses, middle fingers, and heated exchanges that could have escalated just as badly.

02:12  SEGMENT 3: DRIVING IS SOCIAL 

Here's what people forget: driving is inherently social. It's one of the few times where complete strangers—with different destinations, different stressors, different life circumstances—all have to cooperate at high speeds with minimal communication.

No words, barely any eye contact, and just a few turn signals and brake lights to get our points across.

When you think about it that way, it's almost a miracle we don't see more incidents.

Rick August—traffic psychologist who's been on this show before—puts it perfectly:

[Voice clip or host reading quote] "You're not just managing a car. You're managing a social contract with every driver around you."

That's why misunderstandings take on such weight. You get cut off and it feels like someone just insulted your intelligence. But most of the time, it's not about you. It's a missed blind spot. A misjudged speed. Or yeah—someone having a worse day than you are.

That's what social driving really means. It's not just your road. It's ours.

03:15 SEGMENT 4: THE TRIGGERS

So what pushes us over the edge? According to research from AAA and NHTSA, these are the top triggers:

• Being cut off or merged into without warning
• Lane weaving and aggressive passing
• Tailgating (especially when there's nowhere to go)
• Excessive or long honking
• Slow drivers blocking the passing lane
• Sitting in congestion when you're already late

03:35 Any of those sound familiar? Yeah, thought so. Me too.

The sad part? None of these actions are illegal on their own. But add anger, fatigue, a tight deadline, or the stress of running late to pick up your kid—and suddenly they become matches to gasoline.

[Brief traffic sound effect]

03:55 Officer Monica Reyes with the Highway Patrol said  something fascinating: in over 70% of the road rage cases she's investigated, at least one driver was running late. Seventy percent. Think about that. We put lives at risk—including our own—just to make up a few minutes.

 04:10 

SEGMENT 5: IT HAPPENS FAST 

Police in Phoenix reported a case where a woman followed a man for five miles after he cut her off... then assaulted him with a water bottle at a stoplight.

It happens that fast. From zero to boiling point in seconds.

A traffic reporter colleague told me about an incident in Orlando where two drivers exchanged words at a red light, then one followed the other home. To their home. Just to continue the argument.

Think about what has to happen for things to get to this point. Someone has to decide that whatever else they had planned that day—work, family, errands—is less important than pursuing this conflict.

That's not rational. That's what happens when the primitive part of our brain—the part responsible for fight-or-flight—hijacks our decision-making.

04:52 

SEGMENT 6: DE-ESCALATION

So what do you do when it feels like the fuse is already lit? When someone's tailgating you, or screaming out their window, or making threatening gestures?

Start here:

1. No eye contact. This isn't weakness—it's strategic. Eye contact can escalate a situation immediately.
2. No hand gestures. Not even a dismissive wave. Nothing.
3. Create distance between you and them. Let them pass if they want to. Change lanes if you can.
4. If they follow you, don't go home. Drive to a police station or a busy public place and call 911.
5. And most importantly, don't take the bait. Our ego tells us we need to "win." Your actual job is to get home safe.

05:32 [ Road Rage Recap ]

I'll say this again because it's worth repeating: You don't need to win. You just need to get home.

[Brief pause]

A listener emailed me last week—Ron from Tampa. He said something that stuck with me:

"I've never regretted letting someone else 'win' on the road. But I've definitely regretted the times I didn't."

05:52 

SEGMENT 7: MINDSET MATTERS 

Rush hour is basically an emotional obstacle course. But a little planning helps:

06:00 5 Actionable Tips NOW

And that is what this podcast is all about - being prepared before you go out.

• Leave early so you're not driving with that pit-of-the-stomach urgency.
• Have calming music or podcasts lined up (hint hint).
• Recognize your own triggers. If you know being late makes you aggressive, build in buffer time.
• And if you feel the pressure building—breathe. Deep breath in for four counts, hold for two, out for six. Or any kind of variation, bt just focus on your breathing, 
•  Your nervous system needs oxygen more than you need to prove a point.

Remember: we're not just operating machines. We're managing emotion in motion.

CLOSING / CALL TO ACTION 

[Music begins to fade up]

If you've got your own road rage story—or better yet, a moment where you chose patience over escalation—send it my way: freewaytrafficexpert@gmail.com.

For this episode, I've added links to  news clips, and my own dashcam footage,, expert interviews, and some @ mastering the commute… Follow me on social media, …

Until next week and drive smart and dont forget to check out our community at Drivesmarternow,.com