Avoid Car Crashes From Road Rage – Stay Zen

The UK has in the past been declared the worst country for exhibiting road rage. It’s a common occurrence that Brits feel aggrieved while making their commute. Suffering road rage greatly elevates the risk of collisions during these drives. Sincere Law takes a look at road rage in the UK and how to combat the emotions that cause it.

Road rage defined is “uncontrolled anger that is usually provoked by another motorist’s irritating act”. The results vary dependant on person and situation. Road rage is often exhibited in the form of lewd gestures, swearing, shouting and sometimes aggressive/dangerous driving tactics in retaliation.

A driver can, of course, be irritated before the ignition is switched on; as a result of a bad day, some bad news, or anything that has annoyed them. Regardless of the reason, becoming enraged behind the wheel is an emotional response. That emotional response can turn even the most relaxed personality onto irrational responses to mistakes by other drivers.

A YouGov survey was carried out as to why people suffer attacks of road rage. Unsurprisingly the biggest contributors were the result of poor driving by other road users. These included:

• Being cut up by other drivers
• Drivers failing to indicate
• General rudeness
• Others driving too slow
• Others driving too fast

It is vitally important to remember that the effects of road rage can be dangerous to all road users. Regardless of the initial incident which raised the ire, retaliating while driving can cause a plethora more problems.

The effects of road rage can vary depending on the severity and the person suffering from it. With effects including becoming violent, swearing, shouting, driving aggressively and driving poorly on purpose, the retaliation alone can be a higher risk of causing collision than the initial act sparking the anger.

All effects of road rage include some form of distraction for those involved. Looking towards another driver and arguing, shouting at them or confronting them takes you away from the road (or even your car physically) to pursue personal interest.

This poses a substantial risk further than that of the initial problem. Getting out of a car or taking eyes away from the road to confront somebody could easily set in motion a collision with one or multiple road users. Even if another driver is oblivious to road rules and drives in an inconsiderate manner, the best option is always to ignore them.

The best way to control road rage is to stop yourself slipping into it. Road rage itself is mostly the result of becoming angered by another driver. To control it, the best form of defence is to be the shining example.

Drive at a sensible speed

Don’t cut people off

Don’t drive slow, blocking off passing lanes

A lot of incidents involving road rage stem from the attitude of both drivers involved. If you wish to stop all road rage on your own behalf, the easy answer is avoid it by not getting involved. Avoiding eye contact, steering clear of poor drivers rather than following them closely or brake checking (which is a legal offence) will instantly put a stop to most confrontations.

Incidents of road rage can cause major damage to the driver’s vehicle, the driver, other cars and other car owners. Any incident resulting in a car accident holds potential to cause physical harm and road accident claims can be brought against the person responsible as a result of anger.

So the next time you are driving and somebody does something you feel is inappropriate, the simplest answer is… ignore it. Turn up the radio and drive on. You’ll likely forget the incident before long and be able to enjoy the rest of your drive!