A traffic dispute in Schaepmanlaan in Oss resulted in a fight between five people on Monday afternoon. This is not the first traffic dispute that got out of hand. Traffic psychologist Gerard Tertoolen sees things go wrong more often and explains why traffic fools can go on such a rampage. “Traffic irritations bring out the most primitive in us.”
According to Tertoolen, the fact that the road is becoming increasingly busy is an explanation for the increasing number of traffic disputes. Yet he also sees the severity of traffic disputes increasing. Things got so out of hand in Oss on Monday afternoon that a car ended up in a front garden. One of the fighters has been arrested.
According to the traffic psychologist, there are a number of reasons why some drivers fail to control themselves. Firstly, we feel anonymous in the car. “This way we don’t feel vulnerable,” he explains. “Many experiments in psychology show that we push boundaries when we feel anonymous and that we then exhibit more rowdy behavior.”
In addition, according to Tertoolen, a car gives a feeling of power. “With a simple movement of your foot you make a machine roar and then you feel like king of the road. That gives the feeling that you have control over everything.”
“The most good family man can turn into a monster.”
Primitive reactions such as fight, flight or freezing also lurk in traffic. For example, in the event of a collision, it sometimes happens that a driver continues driving and literally flees the scene. “But traffic irritations also bring out the most primitive in us. This is how the most well-behaved family man can turn into a monster.”
According to the traffic psychologist, these primitive reactions mainly occur when drivers feel their freedom is being violated and when they feel insulted or threatened. According to him, the increasing traffic on the road increases the feeling of your freedom being compromised.
“You and your car are one.”
In addition, it also plays a role that we identify very much with our car. “We often say: that’s where I stand. And not: that’s where my car is. That clearly indicates that you and your car are one. As a result, drivers push boundaries and unfortunately not always in a positive way.”
There are courses to remind traffic offenders of their behavior after a violation. “This focuses on what you did wrong, why that is not desirable and how this should be done differently in the future,” Tertoolen explains.
In addition, the course also has a financial impact. For example, motorists have to pay for the course themselves, they have to take time off work for the course and they also receive a fine for the traffic violation. “That can amount to significant amounts. It is not unlikely that people have lost more than a thousand euros.”
However, according to the traffic psychologist, this is no guarantee that these motorists will never make the mistake again. “If you get angry in traffic, it is a lot more impulsive than our brain thinks about it, so you never have a 100 percent guarantee.”
Not the first time
Things often get out of hand in traffic. For example, in April last year a motorist ended up in hospital with broken bones after a traffic dispute on the N612 between Helmond and Lierop. The man was chased by motorists, overtaken, pushed off the road and beaten up. Things also got out of hand in Etten-Leur in March of this year. A man there waved an ax at another man who had rammed into the back of his car.
This article is an updated version of an article from May 2024.
