Safe Driving Tips: How to Avoid Road Rage

The holiday driving season now underway means clogged roads and traffic jams, when road rage becomes a driving danger, along with drunk driving and such distracted driving as texting while driving.

All of us have gotten frustrated behind the wheel at some point in our lives, and maybe even acted out by doing something stupid, like giving another driver the finger.

These tips will help you avoid aggressive drivers, or become one yourself – especially if you have not been driving much these last few months of Covid-19 social distancing.

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A recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that half of all drivers had purposely tailgated another vehicle, yelled at another driver, or honked a horn “to show annoyance or anger” at least once in year the study was taken.  Twelve percent of drivers reported that they had cut someone off on purpose, and nearly 4 percent said they had gotten out of their vehicle to confront another driver.

A survey by The Trace indicates that road rage incidents have increased at an alarming rate in recent years, especially incidents where somebody pulls a gun, and there have been several recent front-page headline events in which an innocent child or a famous sports celebrity is killed or injured in a road rage incident.

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

This article was published originally in 2017, and is updated twice a year, for the summer driving season and winter holiday season.

Copyright (C) Evelyn Kanter

ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and guidebook and smartphone app author – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.

Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.

Also follow my NYC website, www.nyconthecheap.com.