Road rage doesn’t always end when the journey does

KUALA LUMPUR: Dashcam videos of motorists chasing one another, slamming on their brakes or blocking traffic – these have become a familiar sight on social media.

While these clips often spark heated debate online, they rarely show what happens after the cameras stop rolling. For some victims, the fear and trauma can linger long after they have reached their destination.

Entrepreneur Silver Low, 29, still vividly remembers the drive to KLIA that left him shaken. He was travelling along the Elite Expressway when he came up behind an older driver whom he believed was having difficulty keeping pace with traffic.

“I signalled for her to move over, but she didn’t respond,” he told Bernama. “I flashed my high beam because there was a line of cars behind me doing the same.”

When he eventually overtook her on the left, he thought the encounter was over. Instead, he said, the driver switched lanes, turned on her high beam, and began following his vehicle all the way towards the airport toll.

“I had friends with children in the car, so I didn’t want any confrontation,” he said. “But when I tried to overtake again, she suddenly slammed on her brakes. We almost ended up in a three-car pile-up.”

The situation became even more alarming when another motorist sounded the horn. “She braked suddenly again before swerving towards the other driver’s car,” Low recalled.

“After that, I overtook her and sped away. The last thing I saw was her making a dangerous four- or five-lane swerve into the Mitsui Outlet Park exit.”

Another interviewee, who only wanted to be known as Syira, said growing up with a hot-tempered father behind the wheel left her terrified of driving.

“If someone flashed their high beam, my father would race after them to provoke the other driver,” she said. “It terrified my siblings, my mum and me.”

One incident remains etched in her memory: after another driver provoked her father on a rainy highway, both vehicles sped off before their car spun and nearly crashed into the road divider.

Although everyone escaped unharmed, the emotional impact stayed with her.

Even after obtaining her driving licence, Syira experienced panic attacks during driving lessons and struggled with anxiety whenever she got behind the wheel.

Safe Community Alliance chairman Lee Lam Thye said such experiences highlight why road rage should not be dismissed as a minor traffic issue.

“We need to view this issue not merely as a traffic problem, but as a matter of public safety and social behaviour,” he said.

According to Lee, aggressive driving is often fuelled by stress, traffic congestion, impatience and an inability to regulate emotions.

He believes driver education should place greater emphasis on emotional control, patience and mutual respect among road users.

Road Safety Council of Malaysia executive council member Suret Singh agreed, saying tackling road rage requires stronger enforcement alongside better driver education.

He said wider use of dashcam and CCTV footage could help identify dangerous drivers, while tougher penalties and mandatory anger-management or defensive-driving courses could discourage repeat offences.

Public awareness campaigns, he added, should also encourage motorists to stay calm and remember that a moment of anger behind the wheel can have lasting consequences.