Road rage. It’s a familiar feeling for anyone who’s driven a car. It’s a fear that’s re-enforced by all-too-frequent, and often frightening, headlines. Road rage instances range from annoyingly dramatic to very intense to, in scary situations, violent.
What driver hasn’t witnessed another motorist driving while distracted, dangerously tailgating, swerving through traffic at high speed, or gesturing rudely at others on the road? For that matter, what driver hasn’t felt a surge of anger after being cut off or having another car slide into the parking space they’d been patiently waiting for? What about when you are stuck in a traffic jam or behind a driver who is texting and driving?
Road rage and aggressive driving—the two terms are often used interchangeably, though both exist along a spectrum of bad behavior—are not rare events. In fact, per 2020 AAA research published by Bankrate, “Over 80% of U.S. drivers have engaged in aggressive driving behaviors like running red lights or flipping off another driver, but these habits don’t always escalate to road rage.”
AAA also researched the likelihood of aggressive driving in the United States found the below:
26%
of U.S. drivers are likely to aggressively switch lanes while close to another car
Estimated total number of drivers: 57 million
31%
of U.S. drivers are likely to run a red light
Estimated total number of drivers: 68 million
32%
of U.S. drivers are likely to honk or make rude gestures
Estimated total number of drivers: 71 million
34%
of U.S. drivers are likely to tailgate to prevent another car from merging in front of you
Estimated total number of drivers: 74 million
48%
of U.S. drivers are likely to drive 15 mph or more over the highway speed limit
Estimated total number of drivers: 106 million
Scary, right?
Thankfully, many states have been enacting laws for hundreds of years to help make the roads a safer place, and still are to this day. Just this past June, Utah became the first state to launch a Road Rage Enhancement Law, “representing a significant stride in addressing the escalating problem of aggressive driving behaviors.“
So, what can you do to avoid angry drivers, manage your own traffic-induced frustration, and generally stay safe on the road? Here are some basics on how to identify and deal with aggressive driving.
Defining Road Rage and Identifying Aggressive Driving
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines aggressive driving as when “an individual commits a combination of moving traffic offenses so as to endanger other persons or property.” Road rage, according to the NHTSA, emerged as a label to “describe the angry and violent behaviors at the extreme of the aggressive driving continuum.”
Behaviors that can be classified as aggressive driving and/or road rage include:
- Yelling, honking, gesturing at other motorists
- Blocking other drivers from changing lanes
- Intentionally tailgating or cutting others off
- Chasing or challenging other drivers
- Getting out of the car to accost another person or vehicle
- Using a vehicle to purposefully ram other cars
Handling Aggressive Drivers
If another driver is behaving aggressively or erratically:
- Do whatever is appropriate, legal and safe in the circumstances to put as much distance between your vehicle and theirs as possible.
- Avoid becoming embroiled in a confrontation.
- Stay calm if they insult you or try to initiate a race or a fight.
- Let the other driver pass.
- Resist the temptation to punish someone’s bad behavior or to retaliate yourself.
- Call the police if the aggressive driver is threatening others, appears likely to cause an accident or is otherwise acting in a truly frightening manner. If the aggressive driver is just being a run-of-the-mill brat, try to ignore them and focus on something more positive instead (more tips on how to do this below!).
Ask Yourself: Are You an Aggressive Driver?
Being self-aware on the road is a hard but necessary first step to ensure your safety and the safety of everyone around you. Make an effort to observe your feelings and behaviors when you’re behind the wheel, and try speaking with family members who frequently ride with you and have the chance to watch how you act in the driver’s seat. If you or your passengers notice that you often express anger or impatience, or that you seek confrontations with other drivers, that’s a good indication that something is wrong.
Here’s the thing: Feeling outraged toward a driver behaving badly (endangering pedestrians, say) is totally normal. But frequently expressing anger—at other drivers, stop lights or the wait time at the drive-through, for example—and lashing out at or challenging other drivers is an extreme reaction and can have deadly consequences.
Managing Your Own Road Rage
If you have a tendency to drive aggressively or become enraged on the road:
- Try not to get behind the wheel when you’re likely to be provoked. Take public transportation during rush hour, let someone else drive, or simply postpone your trip when you’re in a bad mood.
- While driving, try listening to calming music or interesting audio-books.
- When you see another driver doing something aggravating, focus on breathing deeply and remind yourself that your safety is more important than getting back at some impolite (and possibly dangerous) stranger.
- Ultimately, consider getting help. Aggressive driving is extremely common (remember that 80% statistic?) and there are plenty of resources available to those who need help. Look into anger management classes or therapy, and research other steps you can take to reduce anger and stress in all areas of your life. For example, cognitive-relaxation techniques have been shown to reduce rage in “high-anger drivers.”
Creating a More Peaceful Driving Experience
It’s not your fault that some drivers act like the rules don’t apply to them. However, you can create a more enjoyable driving experience and avoid unintentionally angering an aggressive driver by improving your own driving skills (which will also help you avoid common auto claims).
Road rules and general tips that can make any drive go more smoothly are:
- Know and follow the traffic laws in the jurisdiction where you’re driving.
- Make sure to use your turn signals appropriately.
- Avoid blocking other drivers or pedestrians.
- Come to a complete stop at stop signs.
- Stay within the speed limit.
- Be aware and considerate of others on the road, always. (Including parking lots!)
- Leave yourself plenty of time to get where you’re going and always use your GPS, even if you know where you are going, to help avoid traffic and congestion. Every situation is more stressful when you’re either late, lost or both.
- Drive at less congested times and take back roads instead of busy highways, if possible. This won’t insulate you from rude or reckless drivers, but it can improve your driving experience and cut down on time you spend stuck in traffic.
Here’s the thing: You can’t control others, but you can control how you react to them. Try to maintain a positive frame of mind. If something angers you, let it go. Don’t waste time obsessing over entitled or inconsiderate motorists.
Stop the Cycle
Although aggressive driving is a common occurrence, and a serious issue, it’s not an inevitable part of every drive. It all starts with your mindset.
If you are teaching a new driver in your household the rules of the road, be sure to include tips on how to avoid road rage and what to do when they see it from other drivers to stop the cycle.
So, the next time someone tells you to “drive safely,” think “drive calmly.”
Take the Pledge
Download and print your certificate today and promise to drive distracted free, and yes, that includes keeping your emotions in check. Together we can make the roads a safer place to drive.
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-Increase fines for those using a cell phone, even at stoplights when a cell phone user doesn’t see the light change and prevents others from getting through the light (a major cause of road rage). A $125 fine in our state is too little to be consequential.
-Insurance companies should help towns redesign parking lots so there aren’t as many accidents backing out of parking spaces that insurance companies “always” blame on the car backing out even when the car going by is racing for a light or on their cell phone and not paying attention to someone backing out. No large parking lot should have two-way traffic lanes. Police in our town won’t come to a parking area accident.
-All towns should have red light runner cameras with high ticket fines.
-Little towns across the US seem to have many police ticketing cars for doing 27 in a 25 zone, but the mid and larger cities rarely do any adequate ticketing except on some “got-cha” spots. Our town doesn’t have enough police to even monitor traffic, much less to give tickets and they won’t come to any non-injury accident.
So due to all of this, we all pay much higher insurance rates – which goes mainly to the CEO’s who aren’t doing any work.
Some 32,000 people in the U.S. are killed every year in collisions, most of which are not really “accidents” in that they are caused by stupid, aggressive drivers who ought to be detected and ticketed, have their licenses revoked for repeat offenses, and do jail time if they continue to drive. This would require much more active enforcement of traffic laws, meaning more police focusing on aggressive driving at times like rush hour rather than isolated roads at 1:00 in the morning. But Americans are so accustomed to this carnage — and in many cases are such scofflaws themselves — that they just won’t support any meaningful change to the status quo. As a driver who essentially obeys traffic laws (driving perhaps 3 mph over posted limits for example) I get road rage myself when I am harassed for simply doing that (or, heaven forbid, driving a little below the speed limit under certain circumstances, even in the right lane).
One difficult situation our roads have is in merging onto a busy highway. The merging vehicle gets the “yield” sign, but the best practical merge is to match speed with traffic. Why do we have this conflict when yielding to one or two merging vehicles into the highway is existing practice and the safest at any speed?
I, personally, make sure I’m the LAST TO STOP at any four-way stop intersection. That body language lets the others know that they go first. Creeping up to the stop while slowing down, then making the full stop lets them know they’re first.
You can avoid a lot of anger by understanding the concept of zippering into a lane of traffic. If you don’t understand how it’s designed to work, please research it.
When someone is speeding move over let them go, they just might be going to the hospital or heard some bad news. Let it be their problem not yours, and by all means pray for their safety as well as everyone else.
Life is shorter than you realize.
I want other drivers to know that my intentions are good, I’m not using my phone, and I want to be helpful and stay out of your way, but sometimes I make mistakes while driving. I regret my mistakes very much. I apologize. I appreciate the patience of other drivers. Please forgive me.
Also please understand that changing lanes is not as easy for me as it was when I was younger. In heavy traffic I move into the left lane pretty early when planning to make a left turn, and I drive the speed limit while there. If you pass me on the right, please understand that I am in the left lane because I am going to turn left.
I live on the border with Canada NY/ON (originally from Toronto but now live in Buffalo). Although Western New York drivers are generally polite on the road, many now have picked up Southern Ontario/Toronto driving habits. We go back to my former hometown of Toronto on a regular basis, and it amazes me what we see. These range from people cutting me off, drivers not using directional signals (401 through Toronto and Queen Elizabeth Way-QEW), cutting into me over a solid line when I’m in the HOV lanes on the QEW. Almost all the time we go up we see lots of fender benders. And the traffic is forever. Not only that but we see lots of anger. It seems that it is ok that when Torontonians get behind the wheel, it gives them the license to be always in a hurry, angry and selfish. Toronto is a very undriveable city.
I did not have a confrontation with the driver that hit me. I only asked him to move up so I could move as
close as possible to the left because
because his TRUCK moved my car was moved to the left . He was still yelling. And his passenger was out
Of the Truck. He then told me he is going to call the Police. Thank said you.
When the Police arrived ,the driver was still yelling. The police asked him to come to his car.
I asked for my forms and a way to obtain a copy of the report.
The most important thing was not to
exchange with the people from the
Truck. That was a great experience .
Hi everyone,
I’m Deb Anger Management researcher for over 20 years.
This is my one big Aggressive Driver Solution For All:
Leave Earlier to reach your destination.
Leave so early that when you reach your destination you have time to relax.
Leaving early allows you to be:
less stressed
peaceful
content
polite
Prepare the night before for the next day and don’t forget to pray
Thank you, Deb, for sharing your expertise!
Very simple:
-drive in right lane and pass on left lane
-ALWAYS USE TURN SIGNALS (even when changing lanes)
-do not text and drive
-do not break when going through an intersection with a green light (especially when there is a vehicle behind you)
By following these driving habits you will not irritate fellow drivers, therefore avoiding road rage situations.
It is sad to see the latest aggressive driving in our area where you are at a light and someone pulls into a designated right turn lane and they use it as their personal passing lane to pull ahead of those who are obaying the rules.
Just as frustrating when motor cycles weave between vehicles to get ahead of the pack .
I was confronted by an agressive young man for no reason; he would drive fast and stop suddenly in front of me… I stopped and sat there. This happened several times, he eventually went on his way and I continued home without incident.