Toyota of Dothan Explains What Road Rage is and How to Deal With It

Apr 9, 2015

For quite some time now, aggressive driving has been a problem on the roadways, but it seems to be getting worse. Incidents of rude gestures, screaming and even violence sometimes are frequently reported to where it has even earned its own name – road rage. Toyota of Dothan wants you to understand exactly what road rage is and how you can handle it.

Road Rage Definition

Road Rage is a term which was originally made up by local news station KTLA in Los Angeles after several shootings happened on freeways in the city. Road Rage is defined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as when a driver commits a moving traffic offense to endanger property or someone else, or an assault with a motor vehicle or other weapon which is dangers by the operator or passenger of a motor vehicle on the operator or passengers of another vehicle.

A clear distinction is made by the NHTSA between aggressive driving and road rage, where road rage is criminal and the former is a traffic offense. This places blame on the driver.

Handling Road Rage

If you’ve agitated another driver, whether it really was your fault or not, don’t retaliate or react to the other driver, as this will just cause the situation to escalate. Remember that the other driver is just not good with handling stress, avoid eye contact with them and keep practice safe driving habits.

It doesn’t look like this problem is going away in the near future unfortunately. All you can really do is be an aware and considerate driver who follows the road rules. Even though it can be difficult when a situation arises, don’t give in to angry feelings or rage while on the road. Thing again before you honk the horn or flip someone off, since you never know what will set that person off. It is more important to get home safely than to teach someone a dangerous lesson.