How to avoid people that have road rage.

No matter who you are or where you drive, road rage is likely present in your driving environment. Many people who exhibit road rage are taking out frustrations which have little to do with the road. Remember when you encounter aggressive drivers not to exacerbate the circumstances by feeding into their frenzy. The number one thing to do is to get out of their way and never respond to aggressive behaviour with aggression yourself. This will only make them more angry and you then become part of the problem rather than the solution.

According to an article by the AAA foundation, there are several actions you can take to keep yourself safe from road rage.

1. Do not block the passing lane
2. Maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you (do not tailgate)
3. Use signal before switching lanes
4. Avoid using aggressive gestures
5. Use your horn sparingly
6. When approaching an intersection, stay out of the right lane when not turning right.
7. Do not take up more than one parking space or park in handicapped if you are not handicapped
8. Keep headlights on low when facing oncoming traffic
9. Give gap by allowing room for merging vehicles
10. Allow other vehicles to pass if you are pulling a load
11. Stay off your cell phone while driving
12. Avoid display of controversial bumper stickers, flags, or custom plates which may incite other drivers.
13. Avoid eye contact with hostile motorists.

Remember to keep a cool head yourself while on the road. Anything affecting your mood could trigger your unsafe reactions. Anyone has the potential to become an aggressive driver!

Practicing safe driving and being cautious can eliminate the threat of road rage altogether. Remember the tiniest thing can set someone off. Is it really that important to get to where you're going 10 seconds sooner, or for the sake of safety, could you not wait until the car you're about to pull out in front of has passed?

Sometimes people honk the horn just for fun, or maybe because they see someone they know. The problem with that is, someone is likely to take offense, not because they did anything wrong, but because they percieve that the person honking the horn is doing so at them, with aggression. That starts the whole chain of events, which could completely be avoided if they had not honked their horn in the first place.

Use your horn for true emergencies only. Stay safe, be kind, and enjoy the road with everyone!