One type of incident you might notice a spike in as temperatures in the Northern Georgia area heat up is road rage. Every year, hundreds of victims are injured in car accidents caused by road raging motorists. Some of these incidents result in fatalities. Though you may not normally hear about accidents involving extreme aggression, they are fairly common occurrences locally and across the nation.
Aggressive driving is reckless and a ticketable offense. With little provocation, aggression can easily turn into road rage. Learn the signs of road rage and de-escalation tactics to reduce your risk of crashing on the roads.
Signs of aggression on the roads
Road rage occurs when aggressively driving motorists intentionally tries to harm others with their driving behavior. Common tactics road raging motorists use include the following:
- Cutting off another driver
- Yelling and screaming obscenities
- Tailgating
- Speeding
- Stopping suddenly
- Aggressively honking the horn
It can be important for motorists to remain calm when responding to the actions of other drivers, whether those actions were deliberate or unintentional. Defensive driving can be very important in such situations.
Prevention tactics to use
If you encounter road raging motorists, do your best to avoid eye contact with them. The key is to prevent escalation. Traffic incidents that escalate due to road rage can result in injuries and fatalities. If possible, take a different route to your destination to avoid sharing the road with the aggressor.
If the other driver appears to follow you or tries to intensify the situation, you may want to drive to the nearest police station or hospital and park in a public area. If confrontation is unavoidable and you suffer an injury, get medical treatment immediately. Call 911 and provide law enforcement with as many details as possible about the road raging motorist.
The warmer months of the year can see a lot of cars out on the roads, so the chances of encountering aggressive and road raging motorists can be up. Remember to stay calm, think logically and alter your driving behaviors accordingly.
