Aggression on our roads

Walking around Dublin city centre on any given day can certainly be an interesting sociological journey observing the behaviours of people going about their day.

However, it is virtually impossible to ignore the palpable tension that occasionally exists between motorists and cyclists on our roads. This is not a debate on who is right and who is wrong. Let’s just say there are some incredibly dangerous and careless cyclists on the roads but there are also some terribly unobservant drivers too.

One thing that cannot be ignored is the level of aggression that can be witnessed in the city by those using the city streets on any given day. Aggression is a behaviour that is intended to cause pain or harm and can be verbal or physical.

I want to explore some of the potential reasons for these unacceptable new levels of aggression. Scientists, psychologists and researchers have done many studies on aggression to help determine why certain people get more aggressive than others and some of the underlying reasons for these behaviours.

They suggest that aggression is regulated and determined by two areas of the brain, the amygdala and the hypothalamus. Stimulation of these areas can cause aggressive behaviour. Many studies have looked at the idea of whether aggression levels are innate, reactionary or learned social behaviour. Other psychologists have looked at how the normalisaiton of violence and aggression in the mass media could perhaps be contributing to increased levels of violence among people in society.

Alcohol consumption can also contribute to some people’s level of aggression becoming unacceptable and threatening. Either way, there are many studies out there that will give you a good insight to the medical and psychological foundations of aggression.

Last week, I was walking past the entrance to Baggot Street Lower in Dublin city centre, when I witnessed a cyclist break a red light on a one way street. It was a stupid thing to do, and against the law but there seemed to be no one on the street so he must have felt he could take a chance. A driver coming the opposite way had to quickly manoeuvre out of the way and almost lost control of his car. He then started beeping continuously while driving his car towards the cyclists as if he was attempting to purposefully run him over. The cyclist came off the bike, while the man in the car jumped out of his car and commenced screaming incoherently at the cyclist who was on the ground. The cyclist then pulled himself off the ground and went to physically attack the driver. Two people on the street jumped in to prevent any further incident before the man returned to his car and drove off.

The cyclist no doubt was initially in the wrong, but the man driving felt a reasonable course of action for the cyclist’s carelessness was to threaten the person’s life by running them over. These are the moments of madness that can kill people and see others put behind bars for life. This red midst, the snap behaviour takes over. Why have we become so maddeningly aggressive? Were we always like this on our roads? Is it just a symptom of what’s happening in our wider society?

I certainly have my opinions.

One of the most infamous psychological theories in history is Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ which suggests human behaviour is motivated by a number of fundamental needs. One of the most important needs suggested is ‘safety needs’. We have to feel secure and protected. Perhaps when on the roads, if someone puts that safety into jeopardy we react with aggression. It’s the most basic of human instincts.

We also seem to be in a constant rush, and are far more stressed out collectively, now more than ever in our history. This has to be affecting us deeply. How often do we see people honk manically after someone cuts out in front of us, causing a few seconds of a delay? We just can’t move quickly enough and we react as if the world is about to end when someone holds us up. If stress in bubbling away under the skin, and something occurs that upsets us, it can very easily trigger unwarranted aggression, which can be our body/mind’s response to dealing with too much pressure. The pressure valve pops and out flows an unreasonable response.

I agree that violence and aggression has been glamourised and also normalised in society, be it through the media we are creating and consuming or for other reasons. A side effect of this is the tension we see on our roads on a daily basis.

Personally, I used to have a vicious temper and aggressive nature that frightened me at times. Like everything with my mental health, self awareness and acceptance of this allowed me to deal with it and look at ways of reducing and regulating my aggression. Perhaps my aggression was as a result of my mental health issues, as I was constantly frustrated at the lack of control I seemed to have over my mind.

It’s important to note that in some circumstances, a ‘distant relation’ of aggression – justified anger – can be a good thing and is absolutely required in certain situations, but focusing it in a healthy manner is key.

Thankfully, I very rarely get agssgressive anymore. I am aware of the triggers and I avoid them or limit myself from them. If I find myself losing my cool I employ the ‘doctor peppers’ mantra of ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’ I don’t engage in uncontrolled aggressive environments and I don’t tolerate unfair aggression towards me.

We are extremely vulnerable on our roads and we need to look out for one another. Aggression is not acceptable behaviour in our society and if you find yourself getting uncontrollably aggressive like the man I spoke about above, you really need to take steps to learn how to deal with it before it deals with you.