by Mark K Hall

Created on: March 17, 2009   Last Updated: March 19, 2009

Everyone here has been involved with road rage in one way or another at some point in their lives. But did you know that it is completely avoidable? In this article I will explain how to avoid road rage; victim or aggressor.

In most cases road rage could have been avoided with a simple sign of apology from the person who triggered it. Even if it wasn't their fault. When the aggressor sees that the victim is apologetic, their resolve softens immediately when they realise that the victim didn't mean to anger them. That's a start.

Victims:

If you are the victim or potential victim of road rage, here are a few things you can do to try to curb it before it happens.

1. Rules of the Road: First of all, if you are obeying the rules there shouldn't be too much chance of someone becoming angry at you for being careless in the first place. However, there are those that don't believe in the rules and may lash out anyway. In this case go on to the next move.

2. Kindness: If you are nice to people, let them pass you, give them a smile and a wave, and don't try to provoke them, potential aggressors won't have any reason to resent you.

3. Be apologetic: This goes hand in hand with kindness. If you cut someone off by accident, or otherwise do something to trigger a fit of road rage, take a moment to let them know you are sorry, and didn't mean to offend them. Give them a wave, or a smile, even mouth them the words sorry. They will relax a little more.

If these things don't work for you and the aggressor is still bothering you, you can do a couple of things. You can get their licence plate number and call it in ( after you've pulled over of course). Also you can make your way to a police station of busy area where a person wouldn't dare do anything irrational.

Aggressors:

If you find yourself being controlled by your rage on the road there are a few things you can do to avoid it.

1. Time: If you give yourself plenty of time to get where you're going, you shouldn't get angry if someone slows you down due to a lapse in judgement.

2. Avoid situations that might cause you to get angry or raise your adrenaline. If you know that during rush hour you always get worked up and angry, simply avoid driving during rush hour. Wait it out and go later.

The thing is, if you accept the fact that there are people out there that just don't care. You can't change how people act and especially if you get angry, they will get defensive. Things can escalate very quickly and get out of control leading to fatal consequences. Nobody wants that.

So next time you are driving, whether you are the victim or aggressor, remember these tips and also, deep breathing helps calm the nerves. Good luck and happy driving!

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