There are lots of drivers on the roads who are just plain rude. They tailgate, they forget to use their turn signals, they race through a yellow light when they really should have stopped. Sometimes drivers are worse than rude—they are downright dangerous. Aggressive driving is one of the four driving behaviors that can increase crash risk; encourage your drivers to keep their cool and to react appropriately to aggressive drivers they may encounter so that nobody is driven to destruction.
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Aggressive driving behaviors include tailgating, abrupt lane changes, rude hand gestures, failing to yield the right-of-way, flashing your high beams, cutting another driver off, and speeding. Offer your drivers these tips to reduce aggressive driving.
Don’t Be Aggressive
Aggressive drivers more than double their risk of crashing. Reduce your stress and increase your safety by:
- Giving yourself plenty of time to reach your destination,
- Planning your route in advance, and
- Altering your schedule or route to avoid busy roads.
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Specific aggressive driving situations to avoid include:
- Cutting off other drivers. This is dangerous, especially if you cut off a big semitrailer. After you pass a semitrailer, make sure you can see the cab of the truck in your rearview mirror before reentering the right lane. Maintain your speed. Do not slow down once you are in front of the truck.
- Using passing lanes properly. A passing lane is supposed to be just that. If you are in the passing lane, don’t stay there if you are driving more slowly than others and blocking the lane. Move back to the right-hand lane where the traffic is going at a slower speed.
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React Appropriately to Other Aggressive Drivers
Sometimes, you’re the aggressive driver; other times, you may encounter an aggressive driver. How should you respond in order to defuse potential “road rage” situations and avoid crashes?
- Drive courteously but defensively.
- Be prepared if you have to take emergency action to avoid a collision.
- Don’t respond to screaming or rude signals.
- Go with the flow of traffic.
- If a vehicle cuts you off, drop back and let it go on ahead.
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I agree with the points made in this article, but on the other side of this coin, clueless drivers are likewise problematic. Driving well below the speed limit, especially in the outside lanes on multi-lane highways, talking on cell phones and not being aware of what’s going on around you, keeping your bright lights on non-stop, speeding up when someone is trying to pass, turning right on red when it’s clear you don’t have the right of way or adequate clearance and other passive aggressive habits are likewise dangerous accident-causers.
This is a topic I have ambivalent feelings about. /Too many times I have been the victim of someone pulling out of a side street on a thoroughfare where the speed is 45mph, and they pull out when I am 30-50 feet away on the road doing 45. I have to brake abruptly and cause me to wear my brakes prematurely as well as causes the people behind me who may not have seen what happened to brake severely to avoid running into me. What is the appropriate response to this rude inattentive driver who pulls out in front of moving traffic instead of waiting for a clear entry point? They seem to unaware there are other drivers on the road they have just endangered. How to make the aware?????