Road rage can lead to car accidents, violent confrontations and legal consequences when it is not dealt with correctly. While you are driving, the best course of action is to avoid road rage incidents with other motorists. The following tips will keep you and your passengers out of harm’s way by helping you to deal with feelings of road rage.
Polite & Smart Driving Habits
Everyone’s time is important and every driver on the road has somewhere to be. One of the best ways to deal with road rage is to drive with polite and smart habits. Polite driving means allowing oncoming traffic to merge and refraining from cutting off other drivers. Also, do your best to let faster drivers pass your car safely. Many drivers try to block speeding cars as a way of enforcing posted speed limits on their own. This is a dangerous choice to make. Instead, trust that qualified police officers will notice the speeder and allow that car to move past you.
Tailgating
Tailgating is an aggressive driving habit that triggers road rage and should be avoided. Some stressed drivers may try to make an example of you by hitting their brakes abruptly so you hit them. Instead of tailgating slow-moving drivers, try to pass them safely or simply reduce your speed.
Be Calm, Be Nice
Road rage is often vented frustration that has little to nothing to do with what is happening on the road. Do your best to stay calm, nice, and reasonable while driving. Like in most areas of life, it is always best to treat other drivers the way you want them to treat you. When you do make a mistake that negatively affects the motorists around you, try to make eye contact and signal some kind of apology.
Maintain Composure
Maintain your composure at all times. An aggressive reaction to another driver’s actions can trigger a snowball effect you did not anticipate. Keep in mind that the drivers around you also have jobs, relationships and other personal issues that put stress on them just like you do. A relatively good person, caught on a bad day, can be pushed over the edge into full-on road rage.
Road rage contributes to dangerous driving conditions, accidents, and violent confrontations between drivers. Stay calm and courteous while driving in order to handle feelings of road rage.
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