How to avoid road rage

The holiday driving season fast approaching means clogged roads, and road rage is a driving danger, along with drunk driving and texting while driving. These tips will help you avoid aggressive drivers, or become one yourself. How to avoid road rage is especially timely because of that awful road rage death of a four-year-old girl in New Mexico, shot in in her car seat in the back of the vehicle her father was driving.

Most Common Aggressive Driving Behaviors

• Speeding up when someone tries to pass you
• Tailgating drivers going slower than you
• Weaving in and out of traffic
• Passing cars on the right
• Flashing your headlights at vehicles
• Overusing your horn
• Making obscene gestures
• Yelling out of your window at other drivers or pedestrians

Be sure to avoid these behaviors if you find yourself in an aggressive driving situation. Also, to stay safe on the road, you should learn how to avoid encounters with aggressive drivers. By practicing defensive driving and steering clear of aggressive drivers, you can avoid accidents and dangerous situations.

Tips to Avoid Aggressive Drivers

• Don’t block passing lanes.
• Avoid blocking right-hand turn lanes.
• Don’t take more than one parking space.
• Don’t tailgate.
• Don’t stop in the road to talk with pedestrians or drivers.
• If you travel slowly, pull over and allow traffic to pass you.
• Avoid eye contact with aggressive drivers.
• Keep your eyes on the road.
• Keep away from erratic drivers.
• Don’t challenge other drivers by speeding up to hold your own in your travel lane.
• Ignore gestures and do not return them.

Find more tips on avoiding road rage on Edmunds.com, one of my top go-to sites for automotive information.

Stay safe on the road – avoid aggressive drivers, and don’t become one yourself.

image courtesy Geico