Leo Gillick
Road rage is an inevitable and often dangerous part of driving, but a Chinese EV company has found a way to take the edge off.
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There are countless videos online of people losing their cool with other drivers on the road. I think all of us, at some point, have experienced road rage in some form or another. Whether it’s frustration built up from boring commutes or just the absolute idiocy of others, it’s almost unavoidable.
And, it can cause problems. Driving angry is never a good idea. Judgement is impaired, and attention is split, which can often result in accidents. So, one Chinese EV company has added a little minigame into their vehicles to reduce the effects of road rage.
Using the front-facing camera on the Xpeng 2025 P7 sedan, drivers can now ‘throw’ emojis at cars on the road. Akin to Mario Kart, people with road rage can throw angry emojis around the road, venting their frustrations in a mostly harmless way.
Throwing Emojis Over Insults For Road Rage Rumbles
It might not feel quite as satisfying as pulling up beside someone, winding down your window, and launching a tirade of expletives, but it might be enough to quell some of the rage felt on the road.
The company says, “Built into an optional in-car mini-game called Road Rage Reliever, it lets users tap a button to trigger playful, cartoon-style explosions on other vehicles — purely for the driver’s view.”
It’s unclear if other drivers with the same feature will get a notification, but I don’t think that would be the case. It would serve as too much of a distraction. Also, it could end up causing more trouble than it solves. I imagine having your favorite driving tunes broken up by repeated emoji notifications would be rather frustrating
As a mild cure for road rage, the in-car app is a great idea. If it serves to take away the annoyance of being cut up just a little, then it’s good in my book. But, for the more intense situations, I’ll stick with my tired and tested pit maneuver.
No, I don’t care if you have baby on board sticker.
