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Drivers of the 21st century are generally an impatient and intolerant breed of people who demonstrate some of the worse characteristics known to human nature. It is not unusual for even the most timid and mild-mannered of people to become aggressive and intolerant of other road users for the most trivial of reasons once they are behind the wheel of a car. What is it about a motor vehicle that causes such a fundamental shift in nature from calm to hair-trigger aggression?

It is an established fact that people have their own personal exclusion zones that vary in dimension according to personality, culture, locality and life influences. Generally it would seem that people living in a busy city have a small personal zone when compared to someone used to living in a sparsely populated area. In some bizarre manner this exclusion zone appears to change dramatically with respect to space and distance around a personal vehicle. Another motorist for example attempting to merge between two vehicles is often considered an invader and it is not uncommon for the following vehicle to try and close the gap in an attempt to exclude this unwanted intrusion. Little thought is ever given in these circumstances by the aggressive driver that at some point in their journey they may likewise need to change lanes, enter a busy carriageway or street or merge into traffic moving at considerable speed on a highway.

Some drivers are inconsiderate, dangerous and completely ambivalent regarding other road users. All road users at some point in their driving life will encounter someone who demonstrates little or no regard for safe driving practices. The danger in these situations can be exacerbated significantly when an aggrieved victim attempts to retaliate in some manner and sometimes these encounters escalate to violence or worse. This phenomenon is rather cynically labelled as road rage' yet somehow this label suggests an attempt by apologists and Politically Correct adherents to mitigate personal responsibility. The reality is that no excuse validates dangerous or aggressive driving behaviour toward other road users and we are responsible for our own actions.

Sometimes it seems there is no way to avoid an aggressive driver however there is a simple strategy you can employ to significantly reduce the risk in these situations. This strategy is so simple yet surprisingly effective, requires only a change in attitude and will work in nearly all situations. The way to deal with road aggression

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