Driving can be dangerous. You may be a safe and lawful driver, but there’s no telling what kind of drivers you’ll confront during any routine trip to the grocery store or during your commute to and from work every day. Too many drivers are rude or angry, and the road rage they exhibit places them and you in harm’s way.
Although you can never predict exactly what you’ll encounter on the road, it is advisable to learn and put into effect a few tricks to mitigating road rage in your fellow drivers. All of these steps are easy, and most of them are fun and stress-relieving; plus, you’ll find that you become a more relaxed and confident driver when you know you’re doing all you can to prevent conflict with other drivers.
Decorate Your Car
Make your car seem friendlier to other drivers with various types of stickers. If you have a family, there are various types of family stickers you can place on your car or in your window to let other drivers know a little bit more about you. Alternatively, you can turn your back window into a veritable garden that will brighten your fellow drivers’ days.
The stickers on your car will be interesting and bring other drivers out of their foul moods to help them think positively as they drive home, to work or to their various errands.
Be Polite
This is good advice for any situation, but when you’re driving, you want to make sure you’re being courteous to other drivers, especially those more aggressive than you. This means you must allow other cars to pass you if you are driving slower than they are, and you must allow cars to cut into your lane if they are trying to enter ahead of you.
Being rude to other drivers by interrupting their speed or preventing a lane change will only inflame their tempers and make the road more dangerous for everyone. You might even give a friendly wave to a car that looks to be in a particular hurry, just to show that you care about their safety.
Stay Calm and Collected
Drivers with road rage tend to lash out at almost anyone on the road around them. This experience could be as simple as a rude gesture through a window or as scary as the driver exiting his or her car to confront you face-to-face. No matter what type of behavior you see from other drivers, don’t let it affect the way you drive. Avoid making eye contact through windows, as this may incite more anger in the incensed driver, and by all means do not attempt to engage them by returning a gesture or arguing back. You put yourself in real physical danger by interacting with enraged drivers, so the best course of action is to keep to yourself and continue being a safe driver.
Road rage can be exceedingly dangerous, but if everyone takes steps to mitigate their own anger while driving, the road may just become a safe place to drive.
