The difference is that rude drivers are people who are selfish and don't really care about what other people might think while they are driving. On the other side of the coin are those who suffer from road rage. If anything, rude drivers cause other, otherwise 'normal' drivers to become enraged- hence the road rage.
An example of rude driving transitioning over to road rage in someone else can be seen in the following example. Let's say that you are driving down the road behind some other drivers when you approach a stop light. As you are approaching the stop light, the person in front of you decides to cut off another driver in the lane beside him and then slows down for the red light. As a result of this sudden movement, the other driver who has been cut off has to react quickly and apply his brakes harder than usual so that he can prevent his vehicle from hitting the other vehicle in front of him that cut him off.
The cut off driver is now upset and when the light turns green, he cuts off someone else in the other lane so that he can speed around the person who had originally cut him off. He then cuts that same person off. It's a vicious cycle that can only get worse because now, perhaps unknowingly to the enraged driver, he has cut someone else off without really meaning to. See how things can have a domino effect? So, the next time you get behind the wheel of your car, make sure that you exercise caution. Realize that if someone cuts you off or drifts over to your lane in front of you that they may not have intended to do so with the express purpose of making you upset. Perhaps, they misjudged the distance between where your car was versus where their car was, which brings up a good point: Pay Attention!
Rude drivers are, more often than not, those people who simply do not pay enough attention to their surroundings. This is why defensive driving is so extremely important. You may not realize it, but how you drive directly affects how others around you have to adjust their driving. From slowing down to speeding up to having to perform an evasive maneuver to get out of harm's way...there seems to be no end to the number of things that you need to pay attention to when you are on the road with other people. But this is all a part of what makes us better, more responsible drivers. The next time you are in your car, put away your cell phone, leave the GPS device alone and stop fiddling around with your mp3 player. Instead, make sure that you are checking your mirrors every now and again and keeping your eyes open for other drivers and what they are or aren't doing.
