Road rage happens to the best of us. You’re just driving along, trying to mind your own business, and then someone cuts you off or zips in front of you, only to slam on their brakes, or tailgates you for twenty miles for no reason. You might start to consider some sort of vehicular punishment to get back at the bad behavior of other drivers, but it’s important to remember that aggressive driving is just as dangerous as what the thoughtless or careless drivers are doing on the road. Here are a few ways to avoid inciting road rage and to avoid raging yourself:
1. Don’t tailgate.
This is a very dangerous driving behavior and it does nothing by annoy the driver in front of you, which is probably not going to make them drive faster.
2. Let them go.
If someone is behaving badly on the road, let off the gas and give them some room. If you continue to engage with them, you’re just going to get angrier. Change lanes, slow down, or even pull over.
3. Don’t make eye contact.
Whether you made a mistake or they did, just ignore it and just ignore them. Neither of you were hurt, neither of your cars were damaged. There’s no reason to engage with the other person.
4. Keep in mind that the highway is not a raceway.
While you might be in a hurry to get where you’re going, driving is not a competition and turning it into one is seriously dangerous.
5. Remember that everyone makes mistakes.
When someone cuts in front of you, it might be malicious, but it is much more likely that it isn’t. When people behave badly on the road, it is usually just because they don’t realize they are doing anything wrong or have just made a mistake.
