Are you at risk of a car accident due to road rage?

You have probably experienced an instance of road rage at some point in your life when someone cut you off or otherwise did something that upset you on one of the freeways in San Antonio. Although movies and TV often focus on physical altercations or even gun fights as the consequence of road rage, there is a much more common dangerous side effect: the increased risk of car accidents, according to NBC News.

The aggressive driving that occurs after you get angry or find yourself with road rage puts you at risk of an accident. In terms of fatal accidents, road rage contributed to just over half (56 percent). A recent study found that in addition to yelling or performing an obscene gesture at another driver, drivers who experienced road rage were more likely to drive recklessly. This might include blocking other drivers, tailgating or purposely cutting off drivers.

If you get angry while you are driving, you are not alone. In the year prior to being surveyed, the number of drivers who reported engaging in behavior connected to road rage or at least feeling significant anger was 80 percent. The same study also showed that the region in America with the most yelling, honking and gesturing is the Northeast, which is more congested with traffic. Women are three times less likely to get road rage as men and the most aggressive drivers are men between 19 and 39 years of age.

Although anger and frustration on the roads might be a common enough emotion, that does not mean you need to act on the anger and succumb to road rage. You can reduce your risk of being involved in road rage-fueled altercations and car accidents by being patient and not letting your emotions affect your driving.