When stress builds up behind the wheel, any motorist can turn into an aggressive driver. Thus, read this post by Coast to Coast Synthetics in Goliad to avoid road rage and learn more on the matter.
Have you ever felt stress building up while being behind the wheel in a traffic jam? Although any driver is subject to experiencing tension when driving through congested or inconvenient roads, some motorists react by falling into dangerous anger-fueled behaviors called road rage. If you have heard or come across road rage encounters before, make sure to read below to learn valuable tips on how to remove yourself from risky encounters with other drivers and to avoid road rage.
Generally speaking, road rage comprises all the aggressive behaviors that lead to unsafe encounters between drivers. While most motorists typically release stress by honking their horns or yelling, road rage goes beyond and often results in criminal offenses. These dangerous behaviors include tailgating, bumping, ramming, throwing objects at other cars, physical assaults on other drivers, and any other action that disregards the well-being of any other road user.
Avoid Engaging in Road Rage With These Tips
Sharing the road with several other people entails the chances of dealing with an angry driver sooner or later. Thus, it would be best if you learned the safest way to deal with road rage encounters; to that end, here are some practical ways to de-escalate any high-risk dispute with another motorist:
Avoid eye contact:
Avoid looking the angry driver in the eye in a road rage situation, as this could be the first step towards engaging in an unwanted dispute with them. Instead, keep your eyes on the road and stay calm until the angry driver tempers down.
Don't become reactive to aggressions:
When dealing with an aggressive approach from another driver, you might feel triggered to respond and engage in road rage; however, keep in mind the safest way to proceed is to avoid any aggressive reaction. That way, you'll be able to arrive at your destination safely.
Report unsafe road users:
If you feel threatened by other drivers' road rage behaviors, make sure to report them at 311; plus, you can also call 911 for help.
Aside from learning how to cope with aggressive behaviors from other motorists, it would help if you also learned ways to avoid falling into road rage yourself. After all, being behind the wheel can be stressful when dealing with traffic jams, rush hour, being delayed, among other conditions that could impact your behavior on the road. Now, given that aggressive driving often escalates to road rage, it's better to remain calm and minimize the chances of becoming anger-fueled while driving; to that end, read on and find out how to manage your driving stress safely:
Avoid running late:
On the whole, it's not uncommon for motorists to drive in a careless way when they are running late. So, whether your job requires you to run several errands by car or you have to drive your kids to school and other activities, driving can become chaotic and lead to angry behavior when always in a hurry. Hence, to ease your daily driving schedule and reduce the anxiety of lateness, set all your clocks 15 or 20 minutes ahead of time to take some advantage when dealing with unexpected traffic or any other road inconvenience.
Plan your route:
Another thing you can do is using a traffic app to get notified when your daily commuting route is congested, obstructed, or other types of unfavorable conditions that may trigger stress or tension. For example, if you check the app one morning and there is road maintenance on your way, you can plan an alternative route to avoid traffic delays.
Listen to relaxing content or music:
Sooner or later, we all must deal with road difficulties out of our control, such as incidents, road repairs, or a blockage caused by an environmental factor. Regardless, sometimes you can only wait and remain calm; to that end, we suggest you listen to music, your favorite podcast, or an audiobook. Doing this will help you lower your stress by focusing on what you listen to rather than centering your attention on the obstructed traffic flow.
Choose to be a polite driver:
Last but not least, be considerate with other drivers. After all, every person sharing a road during a stressful situation is probably feeling anxious and pressured; therefore, remain calm and be courteous and patient when other road user makes a minor mistake.
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