This is how you deal with other people’s road rage
If you’ve ever been behind the wheel of a car, road rage is most likely something you’ve experienced. Sometimes it’s just really hard not to get outraged and say a few words you wouldn’t use in public when some guy cuts you off in traffic on your way to work. Whether you’re just having a bad day or the other person really deserves it, road rage generally feels justified and that explosion may be necessary.
However, dealing with someone else’s road rage is a little different from keeping yourself calm in traffic, especially when that person becomes hazardous. So, here are a few helpful hints on how to deal with other people’s road rage and prevent it from escalating into something much worse.
Apologise if you’re in the wrong – We all make minor mistakes on the road. Sometimes we don’t realise that we need to change lanes until we’re already lined up at the traffic lights or we indicate a little later than we should. Things like this happen and it’s mostly not a big deal. In these situations it’s common courtesy to give an apologetic wave or put your hazards on for a sec to show the other driver that you’re sorry for causing any inconvenience. It may not seem like a big deal to you at the time, but the other person may already be about to snap and a small gesture could make all the difference. Even if they’re already hooting and hollering, it won’t do you any harm to acknowledge your mistake.
Ignore rude gestures – Sometimes other drivers are in a rush and believe that they’re the exception to the speed limit. And sometimes these drivers are directly behind you at a time when they can’t overtake. This may lead to them driving right up behind your car and, when the rage hits, they may start hooting or throwing around inappropriate hand signals that have very little to do with driving. It’s easy to get angry with these guys and respond in a similar fashion. But it’s best not to. It’ll get you worked up as well as make them even more irate and you don’t know what they’ll do next.
If there’s confrontation, stay calm – While other people’s road rage is easy to shrug off when you see them for a moment or two and you can’t actually engage with them, it’s very different when they try to interact with you. Whether they roll down their window and start yelling obscenities in your direction when you’re in slow moving traffic or get out at the traffic light and approach your vehicle, you need to remember to stay calm. You don’t know what people are capable of and you never know how far they’ll take it. We’ve all heard road rage horror stories.
Report any hazardous behavior on the road – There’s road rage you can ignore and then there’s road rage that turns dangerous. If someone is driving in a hazardous manner and is putting other drivers at risk, it’s important that you report them to the National Traffic Call Centre (NTCC). Road rage is one thing, but putting others in harm’s way is quite another.
Of course, if road rage turns to the worst and that person physically harms you, or even just attempts to, you should get their license plate number and look into using your legal cover to take the matter further. Getting a little red in the face during peak traffic is perfectly acceptable (almost expected), but harassment and threats or acts of violence must be taken as serious offenses and dealt with accordingly.