THE best solution to staying calm on the road may be turning your windshield into a real-life game of Mario Kart.
Instead of hurling a cold coffee at the driver who just cut you off, launch a digital banana for a risk-free stress reliever.
XPeng’s new technology could revolutionize road rage restraint practices[/caption]
XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng at September’s International Motor Show IAA[/caption]
Emojis exploding against other cars in the Road Rage Reliever program[/caption]
Shoes, coffee cups, expressive faces, and more emojis are compatible with the program[/caption]
Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng unveiled this latest feature at a presentation in August, calling it the “Road Rage Reliever.”
By using augmented reality technology, drivers can launch emojis at other cars while driving, good for anything from a quick laugh among friends to a bonafide path to tranquility behind the wheel.
A customizable button on the steering wheel serves as a trigger, prompting the car’s computer to identify the target via an onboard camera array and launch emojis at it.
XPeng has achieved this by turning the windshield into a massive 87-inch heads-up display which can give the illusion of the emojis actually exploding against the real car in front of you.
This is done by using advanced optics, which help calculate the exact distortion necessary to trick your brain into thinking the emojis are floating dozens of feet in front of you rather than being displayed on the windshield itself.
The feature represents “technology-driven emotion,” said CEO He Xiaopeng per Fast Company.
“We used to prioritize technology first, but starting this year, we will prioritize experience first,” he furthered while adding that the game gives drivers a way to “be civilized and experience ‘civilized frustration’ rather than engaging in dangerous behaviors.”
Statistics support the idea that an alternate means of relieving road rage is needed, with violent road rage incidents reaching record heights in recent years.
Road rage shootings increased by over 400% between 2014 and 2023, resulting in 116 people being killed in these incidents and 362 injured in 2024, per Siegfriend & Jensen.
92% of Americans say they witnessed road rage last year, while 89% claimed to have been a victim of others’ road rage, per Consumer Affairs.
While the program certainly could live up to its name, its inherent design also introduces the possibility of drivers forming other dangerous highway habits.
There are conflicting studies on how HUDs in vehicles impact driving habits. Some argue they’re safer than traditional instrument clusters, while others assert they’re more distracting by constantly being in a motorist’s field of view.
One advantage of XPeng’s approach is that it uses AR to overlay elements onto the actual road itself, at least from the driver’s perspective.
This could force drivers to pay more attention to the road than they would with traditional HUD technology, potentially increasing driver attention and improving response times to events in their immediate vicinity.
What is ‘Road Rage’?
While road rage is often defined by an aggressive reaction to another driver’s actions, it could be dangerous.
The NHTSA says road rage is different from aggressive driving, as it comes down to intention. The agency says many state laws include intent to harm as part of a road rage or reckless driving offense.
“Although some States have passed laws criminalizing aggressive driving, it should not be confused with road rage, which is an intentional assault by a driver or passenger with a motor vehicle or a weapon that occurs on the roadway or is precipitated by an incident on the roadway,” the agency writes.
“Aggressive drivers, as distinct from aggressive driving, often can be identified as those who violate traffic laws repeatedly or whose violations lead to crashes producing serious injury or death.”
Actions that define road rage in many states are behaviors like trying to run another driver off the roadway, using their vehicle to cause another driver to crash, speeding, weaving in and out of traffic lanes, or threatening and/or using a dangerous weapon.
Source: NHTSA
XPeng has stated that “drivers are responsible for judging when [Road Rage Reliever] is safe to use.”
XPeng didn’t immediately return The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
ROAD RAGE REPERCUSSIONS
XPeng’s invention could be a major step in reducing tragic and avoidable deaths caused by highway disputes, such as the death of a 17-year-old pregnant woman shot by another driver in August.
Earlier this week, an actor from The Sopranos was arrested for shooting a female driver in a New Jersey road rage incident.
In Oregon, one driver chose to ram into a motorcyclist who was launched over 200 feet and suffered serious injuries in his “miraculous” survival of the incident.
Even milder road rage incidents still can have costly effects, as one Milwaukee motorist discovered when a fellow driver began beating his car with a baseball bat.
