Can Technology Help Us Calm Down Road Rage?

Road rage has long been a hot topic among commuters. How often do you drive in traffic and see somebody losing their cool in an adjacent car? Too often. Current trends suggest road rage is getting worse, not better. With several technologies in place and others potentially on the way, could that angry driver be calmed by their vehicle soon?

How Bad Is Road Rage in the United States?

To truly understand the need for technological intervention, you must first comprehend how out-of-hand the road rage problem is. The most prevalent behaviors include speeding, tailgating, honking and gesturing, running a red light, aggressive driving and cutting another vehicle off. Most frustration is seen on Mondays and Fridays and in the afternoons, when traffic tends to be heavier.

Approximately 92% of commuters reported witnessing a road rage incident in 2023. About 89% claimed to have been victims of one. Are you one of these?

Commuters believe road rage and aggressive driving occur most in heavy traffic, with already-stressed or angry drivers who are most likely running late for appointments or meetings most responsible. Younger drivers are often highlighted as road rage culprits. Technology may be the answer to calm potential road-ragers down.

How Might Technology Help?

How does technology impact driving? Consider current and potential technologies to understand how far onboard methods might produce solutions for road rage.

Chatbot Messaging

A chatbot in the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle (EV) can communicate with its driver, asking questions like, “What’s stressing you out right now?” and providing advice like “By breaking down a problem into tiny steps, we can often string together a solution.” These prerecorded comments were made in response to the driver making frustrated comments to herself, indicating frustration and mild annoyance.

If you were in your vehicle and feeling unhappy with being stuck in traffic, would it help if the car started speaking to you? Initially, the novelty would likely distract you from your frustration, but further down the line, it might provide a way of calming your mood and help you focus on your driving again.

Traffic congestion, long car rides and rushing to meet deadlines can all cause you to become impatient or annoyed — these feelings are generally easier to deal with if you’re not alone. Even if your traveling companion is a chatbot, you’ll be better off than you would without it. Other vehicle and tech brands have taken note of Nissan’s technology, but there’s no news on the releases yet.

Biometric Sensors and Cameras

In 2019, Tech giant Huawei patented a system using biometric sensors and cameras to monitor speech patterns, facial expressions and hand gestures. It can also assess the driver’s blood pressure through an accompanying smartwatch. The idea is that the gathered data can assess the driver’s mood and propensity toward road rage. Should the technology believe the anger level is too great, it can automatically slow down the car or even bring it to a halt.

Road rage often stems from hostile and aggressive thoughts that might turn to revenge on another driver, so you’d assume blood pressure will rise and facial features and speech will show aggression. Although bringing a vehicle to a halt on a busy road may cause issues, the makings of a technological breakthrough exist. However, the six-year-old patent still awaits official release, and there’s limited online information on it.

LED Displays

LED displays in vehicles serve myriad purposes, from dashboard functionality to heads-up displays (HUDs), to enhance vehicle safety and provide entertainment. Their potential to relay messages to other drivers might be a technological breakthrough required to limit road rage incidents.

If you positioned an LED display aiming outward from a rear window, you could send a voice message of apology transferred to text on the screen that quells the mood of an angry driver behind. You might have misunderstood the actions of another driver, believing they were purposely trying to anger. Often, these misunderstandings can result in further aggressive actions.

Sending a visible LED apology message to an angry driver could prompt a more rational response after they calm down. This technology would only work if you’re not similarly emotional and send an aggressive voice message that causes more conflict.

AI and ML Learning

Potentially, one of the most productive technological advancements in assessing and calming drivers’ moods comes with in-car mood monitoring systems that function with cameras, enhanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Jaguar Land Rover tested its prototype in 2019, which took a similar camera and sensor idea earlier attributed to Huawei and appears to have improved the idea.

The camera constantly films the driver to monitor facial expressions and incorporates biometric sensors for more accurate results. Headrest cameras also check passenger expressions. If you’re angry or stressed while driving, the technology will change the car lighting to prompt a calmer mood and can even start a specific music playlist. It can also adjust the lights if it observes tiredness.

The mood-monitoring technology continually learns due to AI and ML, so it will adapt to your preferences the longer it is in place. Other companies offer similar products. Swedish company Smart Eye has released its new AIS+ Driver Monitoring System, which uses AI-powered technology to monitor driver distraction, drowsiness, dangerous driving, body position, facial expressions and health.

Are Road Rage Solutions Within These Technologies?

These technologies offer possible solutions, but there’s still much work to do to combine human emotion with technology to positively impact road rage. You might agree that the most straightforward solutions currently stand the most chance of success.

Solutions for Today

When you’re alone and feel angry or frustrated, you might release your emotions by letting them out — often in a physical way. Punching a wall or slamming your fists on a table can help. Your options are limited when driving, and you may direct that anger toward other drivers. If they respond in kind, the potential for a nasty road rage episode exists.

Nissan’s chatbot makes a case for appealing to human nature through communication. If you have a passenger in your car, you’ll likely feel calmed by their words, and a chatbot that senses your tone may similarly affect your mood. Communicating with another driver via an LED display could cool matters between you by appealing to their human side. There’s no guarantee it will, but it breaks the anonymity element, which is often a factor in prompting road rage.

Aggressive drivers who are sure their identity is unknown may feel there is less likelihood of reprisal for their actions. Even by including your name after an LED apology, you break that anonymity to a degree that may prompt a tamer reaction or even embarrassment. Is public LED technology a road rage solution? It’s not foolproof but may be better than nothing.

Future Solutions

These technologies may show promise, but more time may be needed to refine their impact on road rage scenarios. Reactions prompting anger are often impulsive, so switching on music or dimming lights may not have the desired effect. Presently, these mood and driver monitoring systems will likely be more helpful to fleet managers watching their drivers than road rage candidates. However, they could provide future solutions with more research and application.

Technology and Human Intent Can Calm Down Road Rage

Preventing road rage amounts to control. If drivers were willing and able to control their emotions, there would be no need for technology to quell road rage. As this isn’t the case, applying capable technologies could help. Solutions exist, but without peoples’ willingness to work with them, they will only be as effective as the human element allows. Like in countless other life scenarios, technology for calming road rage can ease the symptoms but not provide the cure.