7 Ways to Avoid Road Rage and Stay Safe

It can be tough to stay calm on the road. When a driver cuts you off on the freeway or leans too heavily for too long on their horn, knowing how to avoid road rage is important. Being aggressive on the road is dangerous and can be stressful, but when it crosses over into using your vehicle to threaten or harm another driver, that becomes a road rage incident.

You might be wondering, “Is road rage a criminal offense?” The answer is yes: If you use your vehicle to curse at or make obscene gestures at another driver, throw objects at a vehicle, intentionally ram or sideswipe a vehicle, force a driver off the road or into another lane, or leave your vehicle to assault a driver, you can be charged with a criminal offense. 

Clearly, having tips to avoid road rage in your back pocket is important to de-escalate your anger and stay calm and composed on the road. Even if you’re not going to commit a crime, being too aggressive when someone irks you can lead to danger. So, whether it’s by merely avoiding interactions with other drivers or keeping your distance from other cars, these seven tips can help you lower the temperature and avoid road rage. 

Tip 1: Stay Calm and in Control

It can feel difficult to control impulses when we feel slighted or, worse, that someone’s actions are putting us in danger. But mishaps on the road are common. So, the better we know how to deal with road rage, the safer everyone will be. No matter what kind of journey you’re taking, take on a travel mantra — perhaps “I am calm” — and repeat it to yourself in tense moments.

Tip 2: Don’t Respond to Obscene Gestures

If someone directs an obscene gesture at you, do your best to ignore it and certainly don’t escalate it by responding. Take the high road and make the highway a safer — and kinder — place for everyone.

Tip 3: Keep Your Distance

Don’t drive too close to anyone and always use your turn signal. Simple actions like these can limit the situations that cause road rage in the first place. 

Tip 4: Take Your Time

Whenever possible, decide before you drive what route you want to take to your destination (or check the route your GPS has planned). This will enable you to take your time, focus on the road and mitigate any stress you may encounter along the way. And remember: Slow and easy always wins the road rage race.

Tip 5: Don’t Take Other Drivers’ Actions as Personal Assaults

Slow drivers, getting cut off, tailing — all of these actions cause road rage. But you never know what kind of day someone is having or what sort of emergency they’re experiencing. So do your part, assume the best of everyone, abide by the rules of the road and, as much as you can, try to give those who don’t the benefit of the doubt.

Tip 6: Use Your Horn Only When Absolutely Necessary

The horn is annoying, and should be used sparingly and only when truly necessary. Honking to try to speed someone up or as an insult is not going to have the desired effect; it’s only going to make matters worse. Use the horn as it’s meant to be used: to promote driver safety on the road.

Tip 7: Breathe

Falling into the road rage trap can be easy. What better place to take out your aggression than in the mostly anonymous setting of a highway? But it’s still uncalled for and hardly ever necessary.

Do your best to put your best self forward on the road. Be generous and kind and do what you can to simply take your time. And if that doesn’t work, imagine that the driver who cut you off is someone you know. How would you respond if they were your friend or neighbor?

Safe Driving Pays Off

You work hard to be a safe driver, and at Farm Bureau, that pays off. Talk to your Farm Bureau agent to learn about discounts on car insurance,  like our Driveology® program.