Statistics show that six million auto accidents occur annually in the US, leading to a terrible loss of life and countless unnecessary injuries, and a worrying percentage of those accidents are caused or at least influenced in some way by road rage.
Studies show that over 80% of drivers admit to experiencing road rage, and it’s easy to see why. It’s perfectly natural to get angry or enraged if you see other road users behaving recklessly or failing to follow the rules, especially if their behavior is putting yourself and your passengers in danger.
However, adding more anger and aggression to these kinds of situations is never a good idea. If you let yourself give in to those negative feelings, you could make mistakes and start driving just as recklessly as the person who annoyed you in the first place.
This is why the best option is to keep your calm and try to continue driving as safely as possible, even though it might seem like quite a challenge to do so. Here are some helpful tips to aid you in reducing your risks of giving in to road rage.
Know the Risks
One good tip to help reduce your own personal risks of giving in to road rage is to actually take some time and learn more about the dangers it can cause. Many people are unaware of just how dangerous and deadly it can be to lose one’s temper while sitting behind the wheel, but statistics show that countless people are terribly injured on a regular basis because of road rage.
By educating yourself on the realities of road rage, you’ll be better prepared to respond accordingly and appropriately when rage-inducing situations and scenarios arise. This information will help you make smarter decisions and understand the importance of remaining cool, calm, and collected.
Keep Calm and Carry on
Following on from the previous point, keeping calm and staying sensible is, quite simply, the best way to react when you feel at risk of seeing red and getting enraged. As explained above, road rage can cause accidents and make already dangerous situations even more perilous, so there’s absolutely no logical sense in adding even more anger to those kinds of environments.
If you let yourself get angry, you might fail to notice other hazards or threats around you, or you might start speeding, forget to use your signals, and put your own passengers in danger. Don’t make those kinds of mistakes. Take deep breaths, focus on your own personal safety, and simply carry on driving in a sensible and smart way.
Set the Right Example
A good way to motivate yourself into doing the right thing in difficult circumstances on the road is to think about how you can set a good example for others, including your own children if you have them. Remember that your actions on the road can be seen and copied by others, so it’s certainly better to show them the right way to behave, rather than being yet another road rage statistic.
The only way for roads to become safer is for the majority of drivers to make the right decisions, set the right examples, and take the right actions, and that can start with you. Try to see yourself as a model driver, working to set an inspiring and positive example for others, and remember that two wrongs never make a right.
Don’t Forget Your Passengers
If you aren’t driving alone at the time when you start to feel angry or upset, spare a moment to think about your passengers. Upon entering your vehicle and taking a seat in one of the passenger positions, those people effectively put their lives and safety in your hands. It’s a big responsibility, and it’s something that should be treated with care and respect.
Take a second to think about how your passengers might feel if they see you losing control and making reckless decisions; think about their feelings and thoughts, and remember that it’s your duty to keep them safe. This should help to inspire you to cool off and make the right decisions, rather than letting yourself do something you might regret.
Final Word
There are so many risks on the roads for the average driver to worry about, and there’s no need to add road rage incidents to that list. Getting angry while driving only ever leads to bad consequences, so be sure to keep these top tips in mind and avoid making those mistakes yourself.