Driver Turns Her Road Rage Into a Healthy Thing

It’s not like 64-year-old Marilyn Morin to lose her cool.

But while shopping last month, the La Habra resident found herself boxed in at a parking lot by a driver who ignored her hints to move.

Irate, Morin got out of her car, marched to the driver’s car and yelled, “Move your car!”

Morin was later so horrified by her behavior that she organized a community seminar on road rage, held Saturday morning at La Habra United Methodist Church.

“I had done a slow burn, then went into a major burn,” recalled Morin. “But I later realized, ‘Oh my goodness, I could have been shot.’ ”

Road rage, as fury behind the wheel acted out in tantrums or violence has come to be called, is most common among males between 18 and 26, according to Phillip Gray, a traffic officer with the La Habra Police Department. It is responsible for about 1,500 injuries and deaths in the United States each year, he said.

“There are people who are carrying guns or might be drinking behind the wheel or taking drugs,” Gray told the approximately 40 people attending the seminar. “These are people you don’t want to get involved with.”

Gray said the main causes for road rage are tailgating, excessive honking or impeding someone on the road. The officer recommended that drivers leave themselves plenty of time to get where they need to go in order to avoid anger and stress on the road.

“Don’t get behind the wheel if you are in a horrible mood,” he said. “Calm down before you start driving.”

Gray also said to avoid tailgating by staying a car length behind for every 10 mph of speed. And if someone is tailgating you, move to another lane.

“When you find yourself near a hostile or aggressive driver, stay away from them and don’t make eye contact,” he said.

“Avoid making obscene gestures or shaking your head or gritting your teeth.”

Dabney Blankenship, a psychological intern at College Health Enterprises in Cerritos, said rage behind the wheel becomes dangerous in itself.

“When you get that angry, your attention and concentration is probably going to leave the road,” he said. “You are then becoming a danger to others. You always want to make sure that you are putting safety first.”

Morin, a retired executive secretary for the city of Norwalk, said road rage “really covers all ages and backgrounds. I guess it’s because we’re all human. I know I’m very human.”