We have all experienced it at one point or another; the driver that swerves in and out of traffic, tailgates, makes rude gestures, passes you just to slam on the breaks. There may even be a few of us unlucky enough to fall victim to a physical assault on the road. Unfortunately, this type of behavior often leads to serious accidents and fatalities.
As our roads become more congested, aggressive driving (or road rage as we call it today) has become a mainstay of American culture. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that up to 1,200 road rage related deaths a year have been reported.
Whether you’ve been a victim of road rage or you find yourself behaving aggressively behind the wheel, there are things you can do to make it home safely.
The Foundation for Traffic Safety offers some tips on how to avoid succumbing to road rage:
Try to disassociate yourself from problems that have no bearing on the journey.
Never assume an apparently aggressive act was intended as such. We all make mistakes. Don’t bite back.
Avoid stress and fatigue while on the road as best you can.
Here are a few tips the Foundation for Traffic Safety offers to avoid becoming a victim of road rage:
If you are being hassled by another driver, try not to react. Avoid eye contact and try not to accelerate, brake, or swerve suddenly. This can be seen as confrontational.
If a driver continues to hassle you, drive to the nearest police station or busy place to get help.
If someone tries to get into your car, attract attention by sounding your horn or personal alarm.
There are also websites set up to report aggressive or dangerous motorists by entering in their license plate number:
What do you think of the road rage tips offered by The Foundation for Traffic Safety?
Do you have anything in particular that you do to safely avoid an aggressive driver?
I've been living in central KY for over 8 years now, and it amazes me that the people here do not have to take driver's ed in school! (They really need it!!) The interstate near where I live is closed down at least once a week for hours due to senseless accidents, usually due to a high rate of speed-and they recently raised the speed limit to 70 mph! People regularly tailgate if you dare go the actual speed limit, honking their horns & flashing their lights at you. Hardly anyone uses their turn signals, so you don't really know where anyone is going or when they're going to change lanes (aka cut you off!) And the majority of them are on their cell phones. It wouldn't do much good to try to get the police involved-I see the local & state police doing all of the same things. How can we expect the "regular" people to drive more safely & sanely, if the police won't even do it. I think it really irritates me because since I'm "a Yankee from Chicago, where all those rude people are." I expect a little more courtesy from these "gentle southern folk", yet I don't fear for my life when I'm driving in IL, because at least most of those people use their signals (and fingers!) before cutting you off!
kokonut1966::
on Aug 17, 2009
I live in a geriatric-laden state and you should see the "geriatric-road-rage" that goes on here. I'm not even kidding you! I've been chased, cut-off and had the finger given to me plenty of times here. One time I even got followed! Now..imagine THAT!!
