A woman took to TikTok to spread awareness about a scary road rage incident she experienced.
“Two years ago, I honked my horn at someone, and it resulted in one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through,” Emily Newton (@emilyjnewton) said.
Newton explained that she was at a red light and that a car was stopped “very” close behind her.
It started raining as the light turned green and they began driving. The vehicle still closely behind Newton skidded on the road, nearly hitting her car, prompting her to honk her horn.
After she did this, the driver began following her for a “very long time” to try to get her to pull over.
“I really do truly think he was trying to beat, like, going to beat my head in if he got me off the road,” Newton told her followers.
Newton Gets Help
@emilyjnewtonYour daily reminder to stay safe when driving because you really don’t know how stable the person in the other car is #roadrage #driving #storytime♬ original sound – Emily Newton
She ended up calling 000, Australia’s emergency line, for help.
“At this point, I’m like flying in my car, and he’s just, like, relentless,” Newton stated.
She told 000 what police station she was going to, and multiple cops met her there to prevent the situation from escalating.
In the years since the incident, Newton shared that she’s only honked her horn once. “It’s really just not worth it, so I think twice about it.”
Women Share Their Experiences
Many other women shared similar experiences under Newton’s post.
“My mom once honked at this man. He wound up following her two cities over, tried running her off the road, and broke her windshield. He broke his hand trying to get into her car by punching her window,” one user commented.
“Guy cut me off. I did a quick honk. He followed me, threw an egg at my car, a bottle, got out at the lights, and abused me. I drove to a police station, and he pulled up next to me, still abusing me, at the police station. Crazy!! I reported him. Cops just said, ‘Yep, we know him, he’s bad news.’ The end. They did nothing,” another person wrote.
Road rage is not an uncommon phenomenon, and at times, it can be deadly.
Annual Road Rage Reports
According to The Zebra, 96% of people they surveyed said they saw at least one act of road rage the prior year.
Meanwhile, 76% of respondents said they felt road rage was getting worse.
The respondents are not incorrect. Several studies have shown that in recent years, reports of road rage have increased significantly.
“A total of 12,610 injuries and 218 murders have been attributed to road rage over a seven-year period in the United States,” The Zebra wrote.
The American Psychological Association (APA) estimates that each year, 30 murders can be tied to a road rage event.
This likely does not count the 66% of traffic fatalities that are caused directly by aggressive drivers (NHTSA).