How should you react to aggressive drivers on the road?

Have you ever seen another driver with road rage? Maybe you saw them approaching quickly but weren’t sure what to do when they reached your vehicle. Pulling to the side of the road might have seemed dangerous, but not getting out of the way seemed hazardous, too.

Then, dealing with the anger and aggression of that driver had an impact. Seeing them curse and swear at your vehicle, swerve around you dangerously and lash out in other ways made you wonder what to do. Not only that, but you want to know how to teach your child how to handle drivers like these.

Handling reckless, aggressive drivers

When you’re traveling in the same direction as the reckless or aggressive driver, you have a few options. If there is another lane that you can move over into temporarily, move over to the right (when possible) and allow them to pass. If you see someone approaching quickly, you can do this before they get too close, so they can go past you without trouble.

If the driver is tailgating you and making it hard for you to move over safely, another option is to start slowly bringing your speed down. You should not slam on your brakes. Instead, slowly coast and tap the brakes, so the other driver sees that you’re slowing down and is forced to slow down with you. Then, when you feel it’s safe to move over or stop, you can do without a major risk of the driver hitting your tail end.

Once the driver moves past you, recognize that you can call 911 or the local police to investigate. If their actions are aggressive, such as if they’re cursing at people or trying to run people off the road, then you should try to remember their license plate number and call 911 with that information. It’s appropriate to pull over onto the shoulder to do this (or into a parking lot if one is nearby).

Remember that another driver’s bad behavior can negatively affect you, but you have options to try to control the situation. Getting yourself to safety is a priority, and then you can call someone to help handle the driver’s road rage.