Road Rage Common, Yet Unrecognized in San Antonio

Driving can be a stressful experience. Sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, witnessing other cars driving recklessly, being forced to drive defensively around negligent drivers, narrowly avoiding a collision… these things cause our stress levels to rise and often trigger angry reactions. But add those factors to someone who is already dealing with personal problems, or has been using alcohol or drugs, and there is a good chance that road rage will occur.

Road rage and aggressive driving are problems that plague Texas roadways. When a driver tries to “punish” another vehicle, or “teach them a lesson,” the results are often catastrophic, often for innocent victims who were not involved in the fight but happened to be in a vehicle nearby. Just recently in Plano, a 14-year old child and the driver of the vehicle were both shot in a road rage incident.

One San Antonio mother personally experienced the devastation effects road rage incidents can have, and is working to prevent other families from experiencing the same trauma. Candice Matthews’ son was paralyzed in 2011 as a result of two road raging drivers that caused a five car pileup. Several innocent people were injured as a result of two angry drivers, and her son’s life has been forever changed due to his injures. Each year since then, Matthews has organized a road rage awareness walkathon to bring attention to the problem, and to encourage all drivers to think twice before retaliating behind the wheel. “If somebody cuts you off, just ignore them and keep driving. It’s not worth losing your life or causing someone else to be hurt or lose their life over anger on the road,” she says.

The 4^th Annual Braylon Nelson 3K Road Rage Awareness Walkathon was just held on November 14. Each year, the proceeds go toward road rage victims’ medical bills.

Read the original article here.