Why is road rage a problem

Search for a course near you at geico. Email Your email address will not be published. This is a really great article. I hurried and stopped, and waited for the car to pass. The driver stopped in the middle of the road, blocking traffic just to blow their horn excessively at me while pointing her finger and screaming. Her behavior stopped other cars on the road.

They could have potentially hit her from behind. Why do some people feel this is necessary? I mean the other driver cannot hear you screaming, and raging. What is the point? Driving excessively slow is also road rage unless someone has to. NHTSA estimates that two-thirds of vehicle crash fatalities are due to aggressive driving and 37 percent of aggressive driving incidents involve a firearm.

Even worse, 2 percent of drivers admit to trying to run an aggressive driver off the road or highway. Possible penalties range from a mere monetary fine to 10 years in the penitentiary. Half of drivers who are on the receiving end of an aggressive driving behavior admit to responding with aggressive behavior themselves. We should all remember that everyone occasionally makes mistakes while driving. We probably all have at one time or another pulled out in front of another car that was closer than we thought or drove slower than the speed limit while day dreaming about something.

As stated above, habitual lateness is one of the driving factors of unsafe driving. Check traffic reports for construction, traffic crashes, and other delays before leaving. Cool down first. Even if the person in front of you is driving slowly in the fast lane, tailgating will accomplish nothing. At best, the driver will ignore you, at worst, the other driver becomes peeved and retaliates.

There are some instances where a light honk might be warranted eg. Have empathy. Put yourself in their shoes — for instance, if somebody is driving slowly, they may be lost. Stay calm. Do not provoke the other driver with rude gestures, brake checking, or blocking them.

Keep a safe distance. If the other driver is driving erratically near you to get revenge, try to avoid them safely. Do not speed or weave in-and-out of traffic to get away from this person, but try to steer clear, if possible.