It’s 8 a.m. and you’re on your way to work. Late, as usual. The streets are packed with commuters and the air is saturated with piercing honks and shrieks, and you’re about four blocks away from pulling your own hair out. If you’ve ever experienced this agony before, you’re not alone.
Road rage is a very real and dangerous thing, but according to a new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, it’s much worse than we thought. Nearly 80 percent of drivers have expressed significant anger, aggression, or road rage behind the wheel at least once in the past year, and approximately 8 million Americans engaged in acts of extreme road rage, such as ramming another vehicle or confronting another driver. In other words, misery loves company.
“Inconsiderate driving, bad traffic and the daily stresses of life can transform minor frustrations into dangerous road rage,” said Jurek Grabowski, director of research for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “Far too many drivers are losing themselves in the heat of the moment and lashing out in ways that could turn deadly.”
The level of aggressive driving varies among different age groups and genders, but the AAA claims that male motorists aged 19-39 are significantly more likely to let their emotions get the better of them on the road. Overall, purposefully tailgating, yelling at another driver, and making angry gestures are the most common manifestations of road rage. Bumping or ramming another vehicle is the least likely scenario, but the AAA estimates nearly 5.7 million drivers have done it in the past year. Yikes.
Read more: Feeling road rage set on? Instagram trends reveal you’re not alone
Perhaps the most sobering statistic is the following: Nearly two in three drivers believe that road rage is a bigger problem today than it was three years ago. So unfortunately, this could be one issue that will get worse before it gets better.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.