When the light turns green, it comes out all by itself: "But go ahead, asshole!" "Three-quarters of French people admit to getting angry at least once a month at the wheel. Out of forty million drivers, that's a lot of people. Americans call this phenomenon road rage, and we agree that it affects everyone … except us. If you think about it, there is surely a time when you would have done better to keep your hand on the steering wheel, or with the window closed. But what happens in the car that makes us feel like this?
All power
Every innovation in the automobile has taken us a little further from the asphalt, the wind and the feeling of speed. Driving seems easy to us, we feel like we are in control, just like in the commercials, and it doesn't take much for an illusion of omnipotence to set in. “People overestimate their ability to drive well and cope with dangerous situations,” underlines Jean-Marc Bailet, specialist in driver psychology. Except, scoop: the road is a dangerous space. This is all the more true in the city, where it does not adapt well to the coexistence of different vehicles. If the constabulary admits catching more and more bad conductors in her nets, men remain in the majority. Blame it on the small cars. Thanks to mom and dad, little boys learn very early on that driving is a game. On the aggressive side, women also do very well.
Death at the turn
Designed like a cocoon, the car even becomes part of our privacy. "It should be seen as an additional room in our house, which is why an intrusion seems intolerable to us," explains Jean-Marc Bailet. We can even go further: the vehicle is the extension of our body. So how do we endure this car that “sticks to our ass”, or this pedestrian who dares to bang on the hood? The anger rises sharply, and it is an explosion of emotions that overwhelms us to protect our privacy. The reserved young woman shouts and insults, the amiable boss gets out of his vehicle to do battle. In Paris, the road rage has sent six people to the morgue in the past five years.
Our favorite incivilities
70% of French people readily insult while driving. We are European champions of insults, along with the Greeks.
34% deliberately stick the car in front.
56% honk inadvertently.
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