Road Rage: Six Things Drivers Should Absolutely Never Do
Road rage is something we all experience from time to time. Every driver has something that grinds their gears in particular. Nevertheless, it should never be allowed to endanger us or other road-users. Here are the worst ways to react…
Gesticulating
We have a long and rich history of devising rude gestures and expletives in this country. There’s no point denying it. We’re not going to lecture on whether or not you should be using them generally, but using them whilst behind the wheel is a big no-no. In fact, it’s punishable by £1,000 fine in extreme cases. But more importantly, it’s a sure way to invite further aggression from other drivers; and you know nothing about them or what they might do in response.
Flashing The Lights
We tend to flash our lights on two occasions, when we’re giving way to other drivers and when we’re angry with them. In either case, it’s risky. First of all, signals can be misread and misinterpreted; this opens the door to accidents. Secondly, using them to punish other drivers by dazzling them is a great way of causing serious problems. Depriving them of their vision even momentarily can have disastrous consequences. Don’t do it.
Confronting Other Drivers
Road rage at its absolute worst can lead us to actually leave our cars and confront other drivers. This is, quite frankly, one of the most dangerous things a driver can ever do. First of all, getting out onto a potentially busy road comes with obvious risks. Secondly, as with rudely gesticulating at people, you simply have no idea who the other driver is or how far they’re prepared to go. It could well be that it’s a 4 ft 2 professor of medieval architecture who walks with a clutch. Alternatively, it could be a violent criminal. In either case, your safety (and theirs) isn’t worth compromising because of a bit of road rage. Take a deep breath and drive on.
Tailgating
Tailgating is regularly cited as the most unpleasant and frightening road rage behaviour on the roads amongst motorists. It’s not hard to understand why; it’s inherently aggressive and threatening. The worst aspect is that it can encourage the victim to drive just as dangerously and thoughtlessly as the perpetrator. If you’ve ever seen the Spielberg film Duel, you should have a zero-tolerance attitude towards tailgating!
Aggressively Using The Horn
The horn exists to notify other drivers, and road-users, of your presence. It’s there to keep you and other people safe. What it isn’t there for is to be used as a tool to ‘punish’ or call-out. A firm and swift use of the horn is more than sufficient to gain someone’s attention and to remind them that you’re there. Don’t use it to harass people; it’s distracting for you, them and everyone else.
Dangerous Overtaking
We’re all impatient at times and no one likes being stuck behind a car doing 40 mph on a 60 mph road. In such instances, the slow driver is driving dangerously themselves. But it’s no excuse to overtake, or indeed undertake, them dangerously. Always make sure that you do it when the road allows for it and when you have full view of what’s coming from the opposite direction; it’s painfully easy to be caught out in a matter of seconds.
Keep Your Road Rage In Check With These Tips – https://autoserveclub.co.uk/blog/keep-your-road-rage-in-check-with-these-tips/
Here’s Everything That’ll Make Your Car’s Value Depreciate – https://autoserve.co.uk/motoring-tips-advice/heres-everything-thatll-make-your-cars-value-depreciate/
