Road Rage on the Rise

While on the highway, taking her daughter home from a driving lesson, a man pull up "aggressively" behind Tammy Meyers and tried to pass her. Her daughter reached over to the steering wheel and honked the horn. Then, Meyers sped up and drove away. Once she returned home she had her daughter go inside and tell her brother (Tammy's son) to come outside. Her son Brandon was armed and they set out to find the man from the highway. With no luck, they returned home to find the man at there house. He was also armed and fatally shot Tammy. Police are still trying to find the suspect. In the picture below family and friends gathered to mourn Meyer.

Vigil For Tammy Meyer

This is the most recent road rage incident, but road rage is on the rise and becoming more deadly. After this recent incident the Washington Post compiled some data together for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to prove how large of a problem this is becoming. This graph to the left shows the increase in deadly road rage accidents starting in 2004. In 2013 the number of deaths was nearly 250, which is a scary number in itself, but it doesn't take in to account those road rage accidents that didn't end up in death, but may have caused serious injury. This graph also doesn't take in to account those road rage incidents that people take a step too far and track each other down to kill at home, like Tammy Meyer.

Another study showed that road rage is most common in people ages 18-39. I find this interesting because I believe this is the most hectic time of peoples' lives. At 18 you are starting your life as an adult; maybe going to college. As you get older you will graduate from college and try to find a job in your field of work. Then maybe you want to get married and have kids. All of these milestones in life can add stress to people. So, it could be possible that a reason people are acting this way is because they are stressed and the last thing they want is to be cut off by someone on the highway. In no way am I justifying this sort of action, but I can see why this age range may be more enraged on the road. 

What do you think? Do you see a correlation between age and road rage?