Some people can get incredibly aggressive when they get behind the wheel of the car. Normally calm people from all walks of life can suddenly lose control when they feel protected by the metal of their vehicle’s walls.
Hot weather, heavy traffic and the stresses of general life can increase a driver’s propensity to act irrationally putting themselves and others at risk. So what can you do if you find yourself being bothered by an aggressive driver?
Remember you cannot control them
You cannot make the other person suddenly calm down. Or maybe you can, but there is no guarantee you won’t make them even more upset. For instance, making some sort of calm down sign with your hands could be misinterpreted as something else by them, leading to them acting even more aggressively toward you.
Removing yourself from the situation is best
Think about how you can remove yourself from danger, rather than what you can do to get them to stop. Pulling over to let them pass often works. Sometimes that means just pulling over a lane, other times it means pulling off the road you are traveling on entirely.
Don’t let their anger incense you
Honking your horn at them, revving your engine to tell them to back off, or raising a middle finger is not going to make the situation safer and they could make it a whole lot more dangerous. Do your best to stay calm, then if a collision occurs, you will have a better chance of claiming that it was their fault, rather than the result of you both acting aggressively. Doing this will increase the chance you get the compensation you might need, should a collision occur.
