Safety while driving is not always guaranteed by your level of expertise or road conditions. The actions of other drivers can also affect your well-being. One action that could affect your safety is road rage. Perhaps you’ve been in situations where a driver has reacted angrily to something you did while driving or experienced some aggression.

Our Miami car accident lawyers share tips you can use to protect yourself from road rage. We will also discuss what to do if you’re the victim of road rage and how we can help.

What Is Road Rage?

Road rage is anger or violent behavior caused by someone else’s bad driving or the stress of being in traffic. Road rage manifests itself in so many ways, including yelling, tailgating, verbal abuse, cutting off a driver, and confrontations. In some extreme cases, a driver could physically attack you at the scene or follow you home.

In addition to the stress of being in traffic, there are a few other causes of road rage, and we’ll take a look at them below.

Anonymity

There’s a good chance that you may never see a fellow motorist again. Such a person could be driving through town or just spending a few days. Unfortunately, this anonymity could encourage a driver to get aggressive.

Impatience 

This is probably one of the most common causes of road rage. Many drivers rush to somewhere or something important. For example, a motorist may encounter a traffic situation that might make them late for a meeting. The situation might make them angry, and they transfer the aggression or frustration to other drivers.

Distracted Driving

Distracted drivers are likely to cause road rage. For example, a driver texting or making calls while driving may discover too late that they are about to hit another car and swerve. This could lead to road rage.

Slow Driving and Over Using the Car Horn

Some drivers hate slow driving, and they could allow their frustration to boil over. In the same vein, using your car horns unnecessarily could anger another driver.

How To Avoid Road Rage

Like many problems we get into, road rage can be avoided or at the very least contained. Here are some tips to help you.

Give Yourself Time

If you have an appointment to catch, give yourself adequate time to get there. Even in the best-planned cities, you could hit a snag on your way. Construction could be going on, an accident that blocks the road could happen, or a million other challenges. So leave early and map out alternative routes in case a situation arises that might cause delay.

Don’t Take It Personal

Some drivers can be extremely provocative, but being able to not take it personally could save you a lot of trouble. Always remember that they probably don’t have a problem with you. They may have done the same to another driver. You just happened to be there. Knowing this helps you act appropriately towards other drivers.

Do Not React

Don’t engage any driver exhibiting some signs of road rage. They may stop when they see you’re not reacting. However, reacting to them almost always escalates the issue. Try to be a rational person, as most drivers at this point are barely rational.

How To Protect Yourself After a Road Rage

Even if you took all the precautions above, you may still be involved in a road rage accident. Here are some things to do if this happens.

Stay Calm

You’re likely going to be angry, but you must not respond. Instead, stay calm and hope things blow over.

Drive to the Nearest Police Station

One way to avoid any violent exchange is to give way to the aggressive driver. However, even that could be misconstrued as an invitation to a confrontation. To ensure your safety, drive to the closest police station if you see the other driver following you to be on the safe side. Hopefully, they’ll stop.

Hire Miami’s Best Car Accident Lawyers

If another driver’s carelessness or aggression led to an accident that resulted in injuries, you may be able to claim compensation, and our personal injury lawyers can help with that.

When you hire one of our lawyers at Miami Lawyers 360, we do our best to ensure that you are adequately compensated. This means we help to gather the evidence required to win the case, contact eyewitnesses, prepare you and represent you in court. We’ve represented hundreds of clients over the years and will bring that experience to bear in your case. So, give us a call today, and let’s help you get compensated.