Road Rage: What it is and How to Avoid It

Road rage is any number of aggressive or angry behaviors motorists show while driving. While many road rage incidents are minor, they can lead to accidents or confrontations, as we’ve seen on the local news.

On May 21, 2021, for instance, one road rage incident resulted in a child being shot and killed while riding in his booster seat.¹ Aiden Leos, just six years old, was sitting in the back seat of his mother’s car on the way to school. When his mother crossed in front of a car, it sped up, and the passenger fired a gun into her vehicle. The bullet hit Aiden, who died from his injuries.

While this is an extreme example, road rage comes in various forms. Minor incidents may involve screaming profanities or making obscene gestures at another driver. But road rage can quickly escalate into more aggressive driving, such as tailgating, weaving, driving over the speed limit, making rude gestures, and cutting other drivers off.

Road rage is more than just something someone does and forgets about. It has a legal definition and can get someone in trouble with the law. From the legal perspective, road rage is a group of behaviors expressed on the roadways that stem from traffic-related incidents.³

Road rage and aggressive driving aren’t exactly the same thing, but they’re related. Road rage is separate from but can include aggressive driving.

While aggressive driving (tailgating and cutting someone off) is a traffic offense, road rage is a criminal offense because you are using the vehicle as a weapon. Aggressive driving is not always road rage. In fact, aggressive driving by one driver can often trigger road rage in another.

There are a lot of factors that play a role in road rage incidents. It’s important to understand that you can’t control what triggers other people, but you can control your own reactions. By doing so, you can reduce your own negligent driving actions that can lead to road rage.

Traffic Delays

No one likes being in traffic. Being stuck in it can lead to road rage with cars trying to change lanes and finding the best driving positions on the road to get to their next exit. While everyone is stuck in the traffic together, it can affect people differently.

For some, it causes them to run late, adding stress to their day and making them anxious and angry. For others, traffic might prevent them from getting home quickly where they can finally relax after a long day. This leads to heightened frustration.

Running Late

Running late can lead to road rage. It’s natural for someone to try to make up time when they are running late. In doing so, they may be more aggressive on the roads, trying to move in and out of faster lanes and take shortcuts.

These actions can not only be frustrating for other drivers, but they can be dangerous. When you’re driving more aggressively, you can instigate a road rage scenario.

Knowing what road rage looks like can help you step back and avoid bad situations. Don’t engage in road rage actions so that you can prevent things from getting out of control. Here are the most common forms of road rage.

Honking

Honking is a baseline reaction among many drivers. When you feel that someone did something wrong and it affected you, you honk your horn. The idea behind it is to alert the person to what they did wrong on the road, but it often becomes a way to let off steam in an angry way.

The effects of road rage on drivers are pretty clear: agitation and stress when driving. Think about the effect of someone yelling at you while in traffic. You’ll likely get angry too, feeling righteous in your actions as a driver. As more aggressive driving is employed in road rage incidents, you may start to become fearful that a bad accident may result.

The risk of road rage is more accidents, injuries, and deaths. Since road rage can happen to anyone, it’s important to avoid angry behaviors such as shouting obscenities while driving.

Nobody is perfect. There are times that you may be a little frustrated on the road and trigger another driver. However, how you handle the situation can determine whether or not you are in a serious road rage incident. It’s one thing if there are only a few honked horns and then everyone gets on their way, but when confrontation and contact start to happen, police often become involved.

Here are some ways to avoid road rage.

Before You Drive

Get yourself prepared for the road before you drive. This means that you eliminate as many stressors as possible. Here are some tips to help you prepare for the road:

1. Leave early. If running late is a key trigger for road rage, do your best to give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination. It’s amazing what leaving five minutes earlier than normal can do to help you feel relaxed while on the road when driving to work or an appointment.
2. Keep your car maintained. Get your car serviced regularly to keep your car working properly. While it can be stressful to get stuck on the side of the road, driving a car without the pickup and zip that it should have can lead to frustration and aggressive driving.
3. Go to the bathroom. Not to sound like Mom, but if you are stuck in traffic and have to go, you’ll be more stressed. Under those circumstances, you’re likely to be more aggressive to get to your destination.
4. Make sure the kids are occupied. Parents can get frazzled by kids whining or crying in the backseat. Have a favorite stuffed animal or game for each kid to keep them occupied during the commute.

While Driving

The best way to avoid road rage scenarios is to control your emotions and keep your reactions in check. What you do on the road will directly affect how other drivers react to you. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Practice grace. Understand that not everyone is perfect and having a good day. Sometimes trying to empathize with others can negate your negative reactions.
2. Turn off the phone. While hands-free cell phone usage while driving may be legal in most states, it can still be distracting, especially if the call is about something important. Avoid your own distracted driving that can trigger others’ road rage. Finish calls before you set off, or pull over when appropriate so that you don’t text while driving.
3. Practice courteous driving habits. This can go a long way to preventing road rage incidents. Signal when you want to turn, and make sure to thank people who let you in by giving them a friendly wave. Let other drivers go in front of you when you know that they need to merge. Being kind reduces the chances of triggering someone else’s road rage.

When Someone Reacts to You

As we’ve already said, everyone makes mistakes. You can’t control every action, and there will be times that you might upset someone. Sometimes you don’t even know what you did to trigger them.

How you react to their road rage can either calm the situation down or escalate it. Ideally, you want to calm it down. Here’s how:

1. Apologize. Acknowledge that you did something wrong and apologize. Sometimes, a genuine apology is all that is needed to calm someone down. Most people will understand eye contact and a wave with words mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
2. Don’t aggravate the situation. Don’t retaliate with your own road rage. Yelling and honking won’t do much good, and employing aggressive driving actions can lead to real problems. Remember that you could be considered at fault if you have a road rage accident.
3. Get help. The great thing about having cell phones is that help is just a call away. Call for help or drive to a police station if you feel that you can’t remedy the situation otherwise.

Road rage can affect your car insurance rates if it leads to a ticket or an at-fault accident. Keep in mind that moving violations will appear on your driving record and bad drivers are considered higher risks. The same is true for an at-fault incident. If you cause the incident, it will go on your driving record and affect your insurance rates.

Insurance may not cover road rage incidents. If you engage in aggressive activities related to road rage, these are considered intentional acts and not accidents. They can also be criminally prosecuted. And even though road rage incidents are not covered, they will increase your premium.

If you are the victim of a road rage incident and someone hits your car, you might not even be able to get the driver to give you his information. You can file a claim with your insurance carrier and pay the deductible to get your car fixed. This isn’t ideal since you may be out of pocket for your deductible, but it’s the best that you can do to get your car fixed in some situations.

It’s best to avoid road rage situations altogether to make sure that your day is not interrupted and that you aren’t responsible for expensive accidents.

Road rage is a criminal activity that can be prosecuted. While anyone can get frustrated with things like traffic, being a courteous driver helps avoid road rage incidents. If someone engages you with aggressive driving and you feel it is road rage, call the police for help. Getting help could prevent a situation from escalating into damage of persons or property.