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Essential Tips on How to Avoid Road Rage
Feb -
Auto Insurance , Personal ,

Essential Tips on How to Avoid Road Rage

Sometimes, getting stressed behind the wheel may seem inevitable. However, there are some essential tips you can follow on how to avoid road rage. By keeping these suggestions in mind, you’ll be able to successfully stay away from aggressive driving behavior, thus ultimately improving your driving skills.

Why Is Road Rage So Dangerous ?

Dangers of Road Rage

Experiencing frustration while driving is quite common. However, when this frustration rises to any dangerous and aggressive conduct, it can put you and other drivers at risk.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA for short), around 93% of car crashes tend to be from human errors. Moreover, out of this percentage, about 12 to 34 percent are road rage incidents.

Unfortunately, aggressive driving is much more common than you might imagine. In fact, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimates that nearly 80 percent of drivers have played a role in road rage events.

This type of conduct is often dangerous because drivers are not in complete control of their vehicles.

Some of the main things people do when experiencing aggressive driving behavior include:

  • Speeding
  • Showing rude gestures
  • Yelling
  • Keeping their beams high
  • Switching lanes without using turn signals
  • Not checking blind spots when changing lanes
  • Cutting people off
  • Tailgating

What Are the Main Causes of Aggressive Driving ?

Main Causes of Aggressive Driving

While road rage doesn’t have a specific cause, there are multiple factors that can contribute to it. Some of them include heavy traffic, running late, or even being just a reaction. This sort of behavior tends to become more prominent when having pre-existing stress.

Along with prior frustration, the factor of anonymity also contributes to road rage. The reason behind this is that remaining anonymous often makes people take bolder decisions.

Furthermore, it’s essential to keep in mind that there’s no specific age for angry drivers. While most road rage incidents come from young men, aggressive driving arises from all types of people.

However, no matter the cause, aggressive driving can result in lots of harmful consequences, such as automobile accidents. Not only that, but it might also make you engage in distracted driving.

For this reason, staying away from any type of road rage behavior is often the best course of action.

Follow These Tips on How to Avoid Road Rage

Tips on Avoiding Aggressive Driving Behavior

Fortunately, there are some essential things you can do to refrain from aggressive driving. Some of the pointers we’ll mention include steps to take before and during your drive. Additionally, there are a few guidelines concerning other aggressive drivers.

Here are some basic tips on how to avoid road rage:

  • Stay away from aggressive drivers.
  • Avoid reciprocating on the highway.
  • Always stay calm and practice defensive driving.
  • Don’t honk out of frustration.
  • Be patient with other slow drivers.
  • Drive to the nearest police station if someone is tailgating you.

Stay Away from Aggressive Drivers

First and foremost, when dealing with angry drivers, you must try to keep a safe distance from them. You can do this by slowing down, switching lanes, or exiting the highway.

Moreover, you must also check your blind spots and use your signals when changing lanes.

Avoid Reciprocating on the Highway

Let’s face it:

Reciprocating road rage can be very tempting.

However, no matter how alluring it might be, you should always avoid it at all costs.

When you reciprocate other drivers’ actions, such as speeding, tailgating, obscene gestures, or even eye contact, things can escalate quickly, often aggravating the state of affairs.

Always Stay Calm and Practice Defensive Driving

Driving is often taken too lightly. As a result, drivers tend to overlook defensive and polite driving.

When this happens, one of the most prominent actions drivers take is getting behind the wheel while being angry. When driving with a frustrated mindset, drivers are often more impatient and willing to take avoidable risks.

For this reason, we recommend always giving yourself plenty of time to cool off before driving. Moreover, be sure to take off to your destination on time. You can avoid delays by checking any traffic reports to see if everything is in check on the road.

Don’t Honk Out of Frustration

Just like reciprocating, using your car’s horn out of annoyance and frustration can be very tempting. However, honking will not get your issues solved. In fact, it’s very likely that it’ll just worsen the whole situation by stressing others out.

To calm yourself down, you can turn on the radio and listen to some music. You’ll be amazed at how music can affect your mood.

Use your horn only in emergency situations, and be sure not to overuse it. Just tap it lightly when needing to get the other driver’s attention. Finally, give the other person some time before honking again.

Be Patient with Other Slow Drivers

In case someone is driving slowly on the road, be mindful of the other person’s situation. For instance, it can be that the driver is lost. It can also be that the other driver is an elderly person.

Driving slow doesn’t necessarily mean that the driver is doing it on purpose. As a matter of fact, in most cases, it can be that they’re doing it to avoid any accidents that might come from fast driving.

That’s why you must always be patient with others. After all, each of us is prone to making mistakes.

Drive to the Nearest Police Station if Someone Is Tailgating You

Lastly, if you’re dealing with another person tailgating you or if they just won’t stop following you, avoid going to your home. It’s best for you to go to the nearest police station. By doing so, you’ll avoid becoming a victim of aggressive driving conduct.

Along with these tips, safe driving also involves counting on the right auto insurance policy.

By having full coverage instead of liability insurance, you won’t need to worry about any costly expenses coming from these instances.

Now that you know the main pointers on how to avoid road rage, as well as the importance of counting on the right coverage, you can now be sure that you’ll be safe on the road.

Contact our crew in case you’ve got any questions or if you’re looking for a quality car insurance policy in Houston. We’ll be more than glad to help you out!


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