Believe it or not, road rage is one of the leading causes of car accidents. Road rage usually occurs because angry drivers are more likely to make mistakes in their driving behavior. To make matters worse, road rage incidents often occur on highways, resulting in crashes that can be very serious and can hurt innocent people (other passing vehicles).
What Is Road Rage?
The definition of road rage is when a driver responds uncontrollably and angrily due to another driver’s actions on the road. Responses can include tailgating, angry gestures, swerving, or aggressively honking at the other driver. In the worst cases, road rage can result in attempts to injure or even kill.
Road rage is generally a response rooted in retaliation. In this case, the driver loses control over their emotions and actions.
A road rage incident can happen to anyone at any time. It is entirely preventable but requires awareness, discipline, and a willingness to nip it in the bud when the incident occurs.
What Causes Road Rage?
Road rage and aggressive driving by others, such as tailgating, traffic jams, traffic jams and erratic driving, are huge triggers for many people when they lose their cool on the road.
Road rage is also common on high-traffic or congested highways. The combination of overcrowding and restrictions in the car can cause stress and anxiety.
Other external factors can also cause road rage. If you’ve had a recent argument or a recent tragedy, it’s easy to lose your temper on the road.
Additionally, the cultural norm of the road as a competitive and hostile arena, as shown on TV shows, various road rage articles, news, media, etc., greatly contributes to road rage.
Most Common Forms Of Road Rage
- Tailgating
- Yelling
- Honking in anger
- Making angry gestures
- Trying to block another vehicle from changing lanes
- Cutting off another vehicle on purpose
- Getting out of the vehicle to confront another driver
- Bumping or ramming another vehicle on purpose
Road Rage Incidents Can Lead To
The consequences of road rage are significant and potentially life-changing long after the event. Here are some potential consequences of road rage:
Accidents: Road rage can lead to accidents. While these accidents may be minor, it is not uncommon for crashes to be severe. According to road rage statistics, in 2022, there will be an average of about 2 road rage-related fatal crashes per day in the United States.
Violence: If provoked, violence leading to injury or even death can be caused by a road rage incident. In the past seven years, there have been 218 murders and 12,610 road rage injuries in the United States.
Legal implications: Aggressive driving may not result in a charge, but escalating the situation to vehicular homicide or intentional injury could have serious criminal consequences for you.
Stress: Needless to say, road rage can cause tremendous stress. Stress can be a major health problem for some people and can lead to larger health problems such as mental health and various cardiovascular diseases.
How to Avoid Road Rage
If you are the driver, here are ways to deal with your own road rage:
- Show your love or wave to other drivers with Geshowit Car accessories to remind them of driving rules.
- Do not drive after an exciting or stressful event (such as an argument, breakup, etc.).
- Do not drive when you are sleep-deprived or tired.
- Assume that other drivers are friendly and harmless. For example, don’t automatically assume that other drivers are deliberately trying to stop you.
- If you start to feel angry, take a few deep breaths. Breathing helps relieve stress and keeps you focused.
- Avoid fatigued driving.
- Be a little more lenient with drivers on the road because their driving skills are not as good as yours.
- If you really can’t bear it, use funny Geshowit Car Finger Light to vent your displeasure.
- Give other drivers a break. If someone is driving slowly, keep in mind, they might be lost.
- Use hand gestures wisely. Keep gestures positive—say, waving to a driver who lets you in when merging. Geshowit’s Thank You gesture is a good choice!
- Don’t tailgate. Always keep a safe distance from the car in front, no matter how slowly they might be driving.
- Lay off the horn. Honking out of frustration won’t solve any problems; it will just increase the stress level for everyone on the road.
- Don’t stop to confront another driver. Stopping could lead to a dangerous situation for everyone.
How should you react to road rage or aggressive driving from other drivers? Here are a few tips:
- Express your kindness and sorry with Geshowit Car Accessory’s “Peace and Love” Gesture to aggressive drivers.
- Do not interact with other drivers. Avoid eye contact and proceed calmly to de-escalate the situation.
- Give yourself plenty of space between you and the aggressive driver.
- If an aggressive driver is following you, drive to a safe place with a lot of people or go to the nearest police station.
Road rage and aggressive driving may be reduced by
- Use Geshowit Car Led Finger Light
- Allowing extra travel time.
- Obeying posted speed limits.
- Using proper turn signals.
- All of the above.
